5 November 2025 | 7-Min Read
Agricultural or veterinary (agvet) chemicals are an important on-farm tool for many red meat producers. They often play a vital role in preventing disease, delivering effective pain relief, and controlling pests.
Mistakes in how agvet chemicals are used or prepared can pose serious on-farm issues, so it’s important to understand how these substances can be used and stored appropriately, to avoid creating further hazards or unintended consequences for your enterprise.
Agvet chemicals include a range of products developed to protect crops, livestock and domestic animals from diseases and safeguard our environment from invasive weeds and pests.
Red meat producers can use agvet chemicals to address a range of livestock health and biosecurity concerns, including:
It is critical that any agvet chemicals are stored appropriately, are not out of date when used, and are administered in the correct dose.
Chemical contamination, degredation or failure can result in a range of negative impacts, including:
| REMEMBER: Chemicals must be used safely and carefully as misuse can result in contamination. Completing a ChemCERT or equivalent training course is an effective way to ensure you are using chemicals correctly. |
It is important to research products and use before purchasing. Using the correct agvet chemical for the correct purpose is crucial to maximising effectiveness.
For animal treatments, talk to your local veterinarian for recommendations, as well as your local livestock product retailer.
For more information on parasite-specific mitigation, ParaBoss remains one of Australia's most prominent sources for parasite management information, with a range of practical and cost-effective recommendations for parasite control.
For more information on pest control options, PestScan provides a range of guidance to help inform your decision making.
The veterinary medicines used to treat livestock must be stored in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Check carefully for instructions regarding storage including refrigeration requirements and protection from sunlight.
Livestock must not be treated with any veterinary medicine that is not in its original container, is contaminated or spoilt in any way, or has passed the product expiry date. Veterinary medicines must be used under direction of your veterinarian. Ensure you are using all chemicals as per their instructions and are trained and certified to use the products correctly.
Unwanted medicines and empty containers must be disposed of in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and local environment protection authority requirements.
The Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program covers many aspects of best practice livestock management, including use of chemicals on property via the following LPA requirements:
The LPA program provides a best practice method for producers to understand their requirements to ensure safe and responsible use of chemicals. These include:
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Refer to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry guidance on agvet chemicals. Further assistance If you have any questions or require more information about completing your LPA Biosecurity Plan, please email info@integritysystems.com.au. Alternatively, you can speak with the ISC Customer Service team on 1800 683 111, Monday-Friday between 8am to 7pm (AEST) or weekends between 9am and 5pm (AEST). You can also access the ISC Chatbot seven days a week via our website or from your myMLA and LPA account pages. |