CEO Message
While temperatures are starting to cool in many parts of the country, the next three months is shaping up to be a challenging time for many producers, with the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast predicting lower-than-average rainfall and higher-than-average temperatures.
On top of this, producers are now dealing with the impacts of fuel and fertiliser supply constraints which are likely to create market uncertainty for months to come. For some tips on how to best prepare for and manage these challenges, we’ve included some guidance from MLA in this month’s newsletter.
Planning ahead
With so many challenges on the horizon, it’s a good time for LPA-accredited producers to be anticipating potential impacts by creating or reviewing both their Animal Welfare Management Plan and Biosecurity Plan.
Reminder: Mandatory sheep and goat eID
With the final deadline for sheep and goat electronic identification rapidly approaching, producers must ensure that all sheep and farmed goats are fitted with an eID before 1 January 2027.
If you are looking for any guidance on implementing eID across your operation, please refer to ISC’s Sheep & Goat eID resources or the Sheep and Goat Traceability Taskforce webpage.
I understand the Queensland government has financial support available until September this year, so it is worth keeping an eye out for any other rebates schemes which may be available through your local state or territory.
Harvested Rangeland Goat (HRG) NVDs
It appears some HRG operators are unsure which NVD books they should be using for their mob-based consignments, so I wanted to provide the following clarification:
- HRG operators should be using the blue NVD book (NVD0324). For guidance on completing the HRG NVD, please look at this example.
- farmed goat operators should use the red NVD book (NVD0524).
You can order HRG NVD books online via the ISC website or by contacting Customer Service.
ISC webinar series
Our recent LPA webinar series is well underway, with more than 700 people tuning in. What a fantastic response.
We are now running a series on Traceability that began this week with Sheep & Goat eID and will continue over the next two weeks with workshops on PIC Reconciliation and an eNVD Workshop.
To register for these webinars, please visit the ISC events page. We hope to see you there.
George Basha’s quarter century milestone
While the NLIS has undergone many changes over the past 25 years, one thing has remained a constant – George Basha, ISC’s resident NLIS expert.
George shares this anniversary with the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS), having been a member of the original team who worked to create it.
Since then, George has continued to provide NLIS guidance to stakeholders and producers across the red meat industry. I’m sure some of you will have met him or seen him present at various events over the years, or you may know him from his monthly contribution to Integrity Matters and our NLIS webinars.
George has made a significant impact on industry's understanding of the NLIS over the years, so it was great to see him featured in a recent article in The Land newspaper, and to hear that George’s contributions to NLIS were recognised at the year’s ALPA Annual Dinner.
I hope you’ll join with me in congratulating George on his long career and the tremendous contribution he has made - and continues to make - to our industry.
Kind regards
Jo Quigley
ISC CEO