Resources to manage on-farm biosecurity

Whilst there is a clear and robust nationally-agreed plan to deal with emergency animal disease (EAD) incidents in Australia – called AUSVETPLAN – it is critical that producers are actioning what they can on-farm to protect against biosecurity threats.

The Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) accreditation helps producers with this, by requiring producers to implement on-farm biosecurity systems. This will minimise risk of infectious diseases being introduced to livestock production properties and the subsequent spread of any such diseases.

Keeping good records is vital in the event of a biosecurity or animal disease incident, as it ensures producers have documented their on-farm practices and have the necessary information on hand to correctly complete LPA National Vendor Declarations (NVDs).

The below resources can assist producers manage biosecurity threats.

National Vendor Declarations (eNVDs/NVDs) and the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS)

Traceability through the supply chain is vital in mitigating against biosecurity threats.

Producers must ensure they are adhering to all traceability obligations, including:

• meeting requirements under the NLIS such as tagging an animal with an NLIS accredited tag or device from their property (PIC) of birth
• recording each animal movement onto the NLIS database
• completing eNVDs/NVDs so they are clear, complete and correct.

Using this information, the NLIS can provide a life history of an animal's movements and discern if contact with other livestock occurred.

Producers can log into the NLIS database to view and record animal movements. 

Biosecurity plans

Farm biosecurity plans are a required component of the LPA program. All LPA-accredited producers must have a documented farm biosecurity plan for each property identification code (PIC), which demonstrates the biosecurity systems implemented on-farm to minimise the risk of infectious diseases being introduced and spread amongst livestock. 

Property Risk Assessments

Property Risk Assessments are another necessary component of the LPA program. Producers are required to complete property risk assessments to provide proof of producer action. Producers must prevent unacceptable levels of persistent chemicals or physical contaminants from coming into contact with the livestock they manage.

Property risk assessments are a compulsory requirement of the LPA program, which ensures the integrity of the meat produced, guaranteeing it is safe to eat and is of the highest quality.  

Property risk assessments and farm biosecurity plans are required to be reviewed annually. With the current biosecurity events in Indonesia and Bali, it is imperative producers are reviewing and updating their records to be best prepared.

Online repository of your records

Producers now have the option to complete and store all their LPA farm records entirely online, rather than on a printed template. This digital repository is a helpful resource for producers to store all required records in one location and retrieve them as needed, saving time and ensuring easy access to records.

LPA record keeping templates are available as Word, PDF and Excel documents for producers to download and fill out electronically, removing the need to print the template to enter in any records.

These templates include all details that must be recorded for each of the seven LPA requirements - all of which producers must meet to maintain their LPA accreditation.

The option remains available for producers to print out the templates available on the ISC website and complete their records by hand if they prefer. Producers can choose to use the record keeping method that works for them as long as all relevant management activities are accurately and clearly recorded.