Be ready for showtime

With agricultural shows and exhibitions happening across the country, producers, exhibitors and livestock organisations must meet their integrity requirements while transporting livestock between shows. 

Gary Noller, Beef Committee Chair of the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, has been a cattle breeder for over 55 years, and believes that compliance for major events, particularly Brisbane’s Ekka, is critical. 

“It’s not just about integrity of the livestock itself, but the integrity of the competition – compliance allows everyone to be on an even playing field when they enter a competition. When those livestock arrive, you know they are compliant because we make sure of it.” 

National policy and state regulations 

Requirements for agricultural shows differ according to state and territory legislation to ensure traceability, biosecurity and safety when moving and exposing livestock to other animals and the public. 

However, there are a number of standards that must be adhered to in all circumstances: 

• A National Vendor Declaration (NVD) or waybill must be completed for any movement of livestock off their property (Property Identification Code (PIC)). 
• All livestock must be tagged with National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) accredited devices – whether that be electronic or visual tags. 
• An NLIS transfer must be completed for any movement of livestock off their PIC. 
• Any area housing livestock should have a PIC – including event sites. 
• Producers within the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program must uphold their accreditation and use an LPA NVD or eNVD. 

Gary says that, thanks to the compliance and diligence of attendees, he hasn’t seen a major issue in many years. 

"We have had the odd case of people arriving with ticks - maybe one every two years or so, where a treated animal has had ticks survive, but I go to each of the inductions.” 

"The Ekka has a comprehensive biosecurity plan in place and as a result, we rarely have any issues.” 

Click your state or territory below to find out your requirements:  

• Queensland 
• New South Wales 
• Victoria 
• Australian Capital Territory 
• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Northern Territory
• Tasmania
  
  

For more information, visit: eNVD app 

Biosecurity before, during and after a show or event 

As a livestock producer, you must be aware of biosecurity practices to minimise the risk of infectious diseases being introduced or spread between your livestock and others during and after shows and events.  

"We have around 1600 cattle come through the week of the Ekka. Every animal is checked - they aren't let off the truck until the paperwork is cited and verified. We contract auditors and inspectors to help us ensure it's done thoroughly and there's a lot of paperwork behind the scenes," said Gary. 

These procedures include: 

• having a formal, documented Farm Biosecurity Plan for each Property Identification Code (PIC) 
• ensuring all livestock have a known health status 
• inspecting all livestock for signs of ill health or disease
• regularly inspecting livestock for ill health and disease while onsite and undertaking appropriate action where necessary 
• keeping records of all livestock movements 
• keeping livestock in isolation for a period of time (usually 24–48 hours) when arriving at and after returning from an event. 

"When foot and mouth disease (FMD) emerged in Bali last year prior to the 2022 Ekka, the RNA sought the latest advice from Biosecurity Queensland, Department of Agriculture & Fisheries. Even though the risk of FMD was very low and was not present in Australia, the RNA implemented a comprehensive set of measures to ensure the health and biosecurity of our animals at Ekka including sanitising foot mat stations for all people to use when entering the livestock areas," Gary said. 

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Please ensure you are following all national, state and event procedures when taking part in an agricultural exhibition.