March CEO Message

The year is passing by quickly. We are already in autumn, and Easter is nearly upon us. As always, ISC and MLA will be well represented at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Best wishes to those of you who are competing, exhibiting or attending.

With mandatory sheep and goat electronic identification rolling out nationally, Xander and Will from our Communications Team have just spent a week in Tasmania holding presentations and demonstrations for a receptive local audience. It’s terrific to see so much engagement and enthusiasm on the ground.

It’s been a big month for ISC and we’ve packed plenty into this edition of Integrity Matters, from important system updates to on-farm innovation and new technology shaping the way we manage traceability, biosecurity and welfare.

Role-Based Access in LPA

Producers now have more secure, flexible control over their Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) accounts thanks to a new role-based access model. Account holders can now assign Primary or Associate access to others, meaning no more shared accounts and greater information security.

Transitioning to Non-Mulesed Sheep Flocks

An MLA-funded Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) in NSW and Victoria has shown strong results supporting producers moving toward non-mulesed flocks. With improvements in productivity and welfare outcomes, the project shows that collaboration, data and shared learning can help producers adapt smoothly while maintaining profitability and market confidence.

FlockMate Program

CSIRO, with support from MLA and Australian Wool Innovation, is developing FlockMate, an exciting prototype that estimates sheep liveweight and fleece weight in real time using 3D imaging and AI. This off-animal, in-paddock system links measurements to eID tags, offering producers a non-invasive, efficient way to monitor performance, improve feed and welfare management, and detect health issues earlier. It’s another example of digital technology helping producers make smarter, data-driven decisions right from the paddock.

Webinars

The ever-popular ISC Webinar Series is back in April and May. We will be covering everything from animal welfare and livestock movements to audits, traceability and digital tools. Each webinar is live and interactive, giving producers the chance to ask questions directly and build real capability in managing integrity systems.

I hope you all get some downtime during the Easter break. To those of you travelling, travel safe, and I wish you a very Happy Easter.