This week, KVH took part in Exercise Harvest Shield, an event testing how we would respond to a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) incursion.

Led by the Government Industry Agreement for Biosecurity Readiness and Response (GIA) BMSB Council, the exercise involved about 70 participants from Biosecurity New Zealand, industry, research organisations and other interested parties that would be impacted by a BMSB incursion. These exercises provide significant benefit in testing our operational plans and identifying areas for improvement as well as clarifying roles and responsibilities of those who may be involved in the response to an incursion.

BMSB is a threat that Australia and New Zealand have in common and in the interest of building greater trans-Tasman biosecurity collaboration a group travelled from Australia to attend the exercise and participate in workshops throughout the week. The group also managed to get out on-orchard and observe how kiwifruit growers might use five-sided netting to protect orchards from BMSB if it were to establish here. Thank you to Seeka for hosting this valuable visit.