Following an outbreak of exotic sugar cane disease the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has quarantined a farm near Childers, south-west of Bundaberg.

Although the DPI has not yet confirmed what the disease is, it claims that the potential effects could be serious. The general manager of plant biosecurity, Chris Adriaansen, has stated that DPI officials have begun a trace-back and trace-forward process and would also begin surveillance on nearby properties.

He mentioned that researchers suspected the disease to be one that has never been found in Queensland before. 'I mean it's serious enough for us to warrant the processes that we've put in place,' he said.