Good records and systems are the foundation of the integrity system.
LPA accreditation is your pledge that the meat from your farm has been produced safely, ethically and meets biosecurity requirements – it means you stand by what you sell.
When you tick the box on your LPA NVD, you are guaranteeing your on-farm practices meet LPA requirements, and ultimately customer expectations. Your tick must be backed up by accurate farm records.
There is no perfect formula to record keeping. The LPA record keeping templates are used by many producers and include all details that must be recorded.
Updates to the LPA website now allow all records required for LPA to be uploaded and stored in the ‘record keeping’ section of producers’ LPA accounts. This enables producers to store all required records in one location and retrieve them at any time, saving time and ensuring easy access to records in the event of an LPA audit.
Property risk assessments and farm biosecurity plans can be completed entirely digitally rather than on a printed template.
More information about the new digital options step-by-step guide: create and upload documents to your lpa account
Alternately, some producers find that keeping clear notes in a diary or record book works well. Others keep their records within their farm management software programs, or computer spreadsheets.
Regardless of the method, it is important that all relevant management activities are accurately and clearly recorded.
Should you be required to participate in an LPA audit, your LPA records will be reviewed by an auditor, so it’s important to make sure they are accurate and up to date.
Complete your property risk assessment online
Animal treatment recording template
Chemical inventory recording template
Crop pasture paddock treatment recording template
Grain and fodder treatment recording template
Introduced stock feed recording template
Livestock feeding record template
Livestock movements off property recording template
For any treatment given to an animal, even from a vet, the batch number and expiry date of the product used must be recorded. A good tip is to ask the vet to put the product expiry date and batch number on the invoice. Any product that does not have a visible batch number or expiry date should not be used.
States and territories have different biosecurity requirements. For record keeping required by LPA, producers need to develop a farm biosecurity plan.
It is an LPA requirement that producers obtain CVDs for hay and fodder. Download a CVD template from the ISC website.
If you grow your own fodder, a CVD is not required because you will record fodder treatments as part of your own LPA record keeping.
If you cannot get a CVD, then a 60-day withholding period must apply from when the animals consumed the feed.
To meet the requirements for crop, pasture and paddock treatment recording, the following information must be recorded:
If all this information is recorded in your spray schedule and can be accessed in a timely manner for an audit, then it is an acceptable way to record the information.
This responsibility falls under the LPA requirement stock foods, fodder crops, grain and pasture treatments.
There is no preference for digital over hard copy records – the main thing is to understand your business is underpinned by the records kept.
The requirement is to show an auditor that records are kept and are easily able to be accessed. This could be digitally in a spreadsheet, in the notes section on a smart phone, in a hard copy pocket notebook or in some other form. You need to be able to clearly show that you are recording treatments and other husbandry practices on-farm to give assurance that you are complying with the requirements of the program.
ISC has produced a series of free record keeping templates to assist producers with their record keeping.
Hobby farmers who are accredited through LPA will need to keep all the same records as primary producers.
The timeframe for retaining records varies between LPA and state and territory requirements.
ISC recommends you keep all records of all livestock registered on your PIC for as long as they are on your PIC. If the animals are sold, retain the records for the livestock for either a minimum of three years, or for the time stipulated by your state or territory's legislation - whichever is longer.
Many states and territories require producers to retain records of livestock for seven years after they were sold off the PIC. You can check state or territory requirements using this list of contacts.
You must ensure you receive and keep copies of LPA NVDs for all livestock transferred onto your PIC. If you have misplaced or lost a copy of an LPA NVD then please contact the sender of the livestock and request a replacement copy. It is a requirement that a copy of the NVD is obtained as these records are checked as part of LPA auditing.
For EU-accredited cattle, failure to enter a European Union Vendor Declaration (EUVD) number will result in the animals losing their EU accreditation.
For sheep and goats with a visual tag, you will not be able to complete your mob-based movement on the database without an NVD/Waybill serial number.