The raids are conducted by volunteers each year to remove the ragwort weed from the sides of roads in the Tamar Valley.

Volunteer and chairman of the Tamar Natural Resource Weed Committee John Thorp said over the past 20 years the raids have had a huge impact on the area.

“When we first did these raids 20 years ago, we were getting truckloads, councils had to provide four or five vehicles,” he said.

“Now, we get a ute load for the whole of the Tamar Valley.”

Ragwort can poison cattle and overtake pasture on farmland, heavily impacting rural areas.

“To the farmers it is about $2 million a year they save because they don’t have all these weeds on their farm,” Mr Thorp said.

Mr Thorp said while there were biological controls in areas of Tasmania, the most effective way to get rid of roadside weeds was by hand.

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