Victorian sheep producers ahead of the game for tracing
Electronic tracking of sheep could soon be nation-wide following a meeting of each state’s agriculture ministers. Here’s how they could impact an FMD outbreak.
Electronic tracking of sheep could soon be national following a meeting of the state’s agriculture ministers this week.
The impetus for all states to come on board has been the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, first in Indonesia and then in Bali.
Victoria is currently the only state where electronic tags are mandatory and other states have been slow to follow their lead.
Its system has shown to be able to track sheep movements within a few hours, compared to a mob-based system using paper forms filled out by hand, which can take weeks to register movements.
NSW was one of the major states holding back on EID tags for sheep but a motion was passed at the annual general meeting of NSW Farmers in Sydney this week calling for their adoption.
A spokeswoman for Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the move to national EID had been agreed to “in principle”.
She said while a decision had been made, there was still many factors to be worked out including cost sharing and arrangements.
Earlier this week the NSW state government said it would support a national electronic tagging system for sheep and goats in response to the FMD threat.
NSW Farmers Biosecurity Chair Ian McColl said tagging could be helpful but “it would not be a silver bullet for the threat posed by FMD”.
“Our members voted to provide in principle support for the development of a national individual traceability system for sheep,” Mr McColl said.
“However, this national system must have jurisdictional harmonisation, be affordable, and be developed in consultation with producers.
“Traceability reforms must ensure that the costs are effectively shared throughout the supply chain and with government.”
Mr McColl said effective tracking would allow stock movements to be known quickly and minimise an outbreak of something like FMD.
“But we must remember this is not something that will replace strong biosecurity controls at our borders, and our members remain concerned about returning travellers and requirements at our airports,” Mr McColl said
“We are encouraged that governments are listening to industry and moving controls in the right direction, but we must do everything possible to keep FMD out of Australia.”
VICTORIA’S EID TRACK-RECORD
Biosecurity may be at the forefront of sheep producers’ minds with the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Bali, yet Victoria is the only state with a quick tracing system for stock.
As was the case with cattle, Victoria was the first state to mandate the use of electronic tags within the sheep industry, making them compulsory for all sheep, lambs and goat movements off farm from January 1 this year.
It was the final step in a process taking several years, which received some push back but now has become an accepted part of doing sheep business in the state.
Victoria now has its sheep house in order, but others have failed to follow suit.
So while Victoria can trace sheep movements with an accuracy of about 98 per cent, it would mean nothing if there were to be a disease incursion.
It is a situation one Western District farmer finds infuriating.
IMPLEMENTATION FIVE YEARS AWAY
Georgina Gubbins runs a livestock operation near Heywood. She said it was vital to have a property plan to protect her income-earning assets.
Along with the biosecurity plan she developed under the Livestock Production Assurance Scheme (which became mandatory as part of LPA in 2017), Georgina takes a serious approach to keeping her property clean.
“We have protocols in place – things like our sheep scanner who washes down his gear before he leaves each property so he arrives clean – are vital to keeping us free of diseases,” she said.
Most of the property is also double-fenced, but neighbouring tree plantations and the associated native and feral wildlife as well as agisted stock in these areas often provide more challenges. Locked gates, property signage and vehicle logs are also part of Georgina’s plan, but sometimes people do come on to the property unannounced.
Georgina said it was important to do what you could on your farm, but the district and the agricultural industry also needed to act cooperatively to determine a strong biosecurity and traceability system.
And herein lies the rub.
While she has always done what she can, and Victoria has a strong traceability system, she is frustrated those efforts could all be in vain given Victoria is the only state to make electronic tagging mandatory for sheep.
“It will take five years to get an EID system across Australia in the sheep industry and I hope it is not too late,” Georgina said.
“I know first-hand how a paper-based system and a non-electronic system can take so long to trace animals and simply isn’t accurate.
“We sold some first-cross ewes about 15 years ago and they wandered away from whoever bought them and someone found them and rang me because they had my tags on them. If that had happened when there was a biosecurity issue then I would have been shut down in a traceback on paper.
“We need EIDs and we needed them five years ago.”
TEMPLATE TO FOLLOW
Victorian Farmers Federation livestock group president Steven Harrison said the cost of tags was often given as a reason for not moving to electronic identification and procrastination on the issue meant the system was not national.
“It is more than just tags, and putting in tags won’t solve the problem,” he said.
“A national database is needed, but there is no point establishing it unless everyone is on board.”
Mr Harrison said the fact Victoria had established a template for adoption of electronic tags, but other states had failed to use it was frustrating.
Nationally, WoolProducers Australia and SheepProducers Australia are also pushing for a national database to be established and lobbying for government financial support.
WoolProducers Australia president Ed Storey, who farms at Yass NSW, said “while trials indicate that EIDs deliver quicker tracing of livestock movements, which is critical for any emergency animal disease incursion response, these tags will only be effective if the underpinning systems are robust and nationally harmonised”.
“Unless the state governments, under whose remit traceability falls, come together quickly to agree to determine and adhere to guaranteed nationally harmonised business rules, then the mandatory application of EIDs is pointless,” he said.
“The first step in the sheep traceability reform is to agree to these rules and how they will be implemented consistently.”
While Victoria led the way with sheep EID, the state’s farmers think biosecurity in general is under-resourced.
A statewide survey by Agriculture Victoria last year to assess the biosecurity system found less than three in 10 respondents thought the state’s biosecurity system was well resourced.
Staffing, education and monitoring were all deemed in need of improvement.
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