This episode featured as part of the Agritech segment in partnership with SenseHub® Dairy by MSD.

A new web-based Smart Weed Alert Tool (SWAT) notifies landowners when a new weed turns up in their area.

Dr Kate McAlpine, senior science advisor at the Department of Conservation, says SWAT pulls records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, which draws on council and DOC weed data and the iNaturalist app.

“It’s like a personalised weed watchlist, and it does the searching for you,” she says.

She says alerts can be set by region or suburb, for named species or for anything new. The next phase adds Massey University’s list of about 78 agricultural and horticultural weeds.

“It’s those ones that you’re not aware of that are probably of most concern.”

This episode featured as part of the Agritech segment in partnership with Sensehub Dairy by MSD. Leading agritech innovation with SenseHub® Dairy — the modular, end‑to‑end dairy system combining animal behaviour monitoring, milk intelligence and automation in one connected platform, backed by MSD Animal Health. For more information visit www.sensehub.co.nz

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.

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