THE State’s agricultural lobby groups have expressed concerns about a lack of clarity and consultation after changes to Meat and Livestock Australia’s (MLA) Livestock Production Assurance Program (LPA) were introduced early this month.
The LPA is run by MLA subsidiary Integrity Systems Company (ISC), and is the national livestock industry’s on-farm assurance program which provides evidence of animal movement history and on-farm practices when transferring livestock through the value chain.
LPA National Vendor Declarations (NVDs) are required for off-farm livestock movements including to saleyards, processors, feedlots or between properties with different Property Identification Codes (PICs).
The ISC flagged changes to the LPA in June, and letters have since been sent to livestock producers notifying them of modifications to the program which started on October 1.
As part of the changes, producers will be required to complete two new sections – on-farm biosecurity and animal welfare practices – when their LPA accreditation is due for renewal.
The on-farm biosecurity component will require all LPA-accredited sheep, goat and cattle producers to complete a Farm Biosecurity Plan.
As part of these plans producers will need to demonstrate they have minimised the risk of introducing and spreading infectious diseases on their properties, manage and record the introduction and movement of livestock, control and regularly monitor livestock health on-farm and where practical control and record people, equipment and vehicles entering their properties.
Producers will also need to have access to a copy of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines, and familiarise themselves and their staff of the national welfare requirements.
On top of this, a $66 fee has been incurred for the LPA accreditation, which will need to be renewed every three years.
The new biosecurity and animal welfare requirements will be considered in LPA audits from January 1, 2018 however, non-compliance will not be actioned until July 1, 2018.
Each producer will be sent a letter to inform them that they have two months to renew their accreditation, which for some will mean they are not notified or required to renew until 2020.
WAFarmers executive officer Kim Haywood said her organisation was concerned with the way in which the program had been rolled out and the little consultation that occurred with State Farming Organisations (SFOs).
She said some of the measures were unnecessary and had angered farmers.
“This has come out of the blue, people have been incensed with what they see as completely unnecessary given animal welfare and biosecurity measures have been practiced for years and there are components of assurance schemes already in place on properties,” Ms Haywood said.
“A lot of properties here in the West can’t meet requirements, particularly for those in the rangelands who have huge access problems that they have absolutely no control over – basically the lease holders have got all of the responsibility but absolutely no control.
“While there is no doubt that evidence is needed to underpin our integrity systems to our export market customers on biosecurity and animal welfare standards and compliances, WAFarmers is extremely concerned with the way that this program has been rolled out without full consultation with all industry representatives and with little justification for the introduction of a fee for accreditation.
“Given LPA accreditation is required to access NVDs and move stock, this action does not sit well with many producers, though we are pleased to know the LPA requirements do not impact PIC or brand registrations as they are managed by the WA State government.”
Ms Haywood said WAFarmers had been inundated with calls from producers who were confused about what was required of them.
She said confusion had been heightened given the recent introduction of the Johnes Beef Assurance Score (JBAS) introduced in July, which also requires a property biosecurity plan, but has to be signed by a vet if maintaining JBAS 8.
Pastoralists and Graziers’ Association of WA (PGA) Livestock Committee chairman and Eneabba sheep farmer Chris Patmore said he was yet to receive an information pack from the ISC, and had heard from many other producers in the same situation.
He said the changes to the LPA and added red tape could turn producers away from the livestock industry.
“What it’s actually doing is putting people off running livestock, creating more bureaucracy and more paperwork – if anyone is looking to get out of livestock well this will just give them another reason to do that,” Mr Patmore said.
“The changes will probably be valuable but sometimes you do wonder how far we need to go with all of this biosecurity planning and LPA accreditation.”
Mr Patmore said producers had also been angered by the inclusion of the $66 fee.
Primaries of WA Katanning livestock agent Peter Sheridan said several agents in the region had been approached by confused clients.
Mr Sheridan said he too was confused by the changes, and had received little information to pass onto producers.
“There’s a lot of confusion, I’ve had a few different comments,” Mr Sheridan said.
“One bloke said he thought it was a scam, a few of the smaller operators who are non-breeders of sheep think they might get out of sheep, I’ve had another comment that one man put it in the bin, so we need to clear it up and get rid of the uncertainty of it all.
“I think it maybe could have been handled a bit better.”
ISC chief executive officer Jane Weatherley said thorough consultation had been conducted with key stakeholders, and information on the changes had been disseminated to producers through Red Meat Industry Peak Councils, State Farming Organisations, State Departments and livestock agents, as well as general media, online videos, direct emails to producers and producer workshops.
Ms Weatherley said at this stage, LPA-accredited producers were encouraged to complete the LPA Learning modules and ensure they understood their requirements under LPA, but they do not need to complete the assessment or renew their accreditation until they received a renewal notification letter.
She said the $66 LPA renewal fee would address a decline in income that would occur as producers moved to the new free online eNVD system.
Ms Weatherley said the fee would create sustainable source of funding for LPA as it expanded and was enhanced.
She defended the changes to the program, saying they would place Australian red meat producers in good stead against international competitors.
“The purpose of these programs is to ensure to our customers that our meat that we’re producing, that we’re selling we can provide confidence to our producers that it’s safely produced and that it’s ethically produced as well,” Ms Weatherley said.
“What the LPA programs does is help producers to basically have an industry system that gives that confidence and trust to our consumers and enables them to stand by what they sell.
“The thing about the integrity system is that we can’t get complacent because we need to stay ahead of our competitors around the world.”
Further information about the integrity programs is available on the MLA website mla.com.au/integrity, or call the Helpdesk on 1800 683 111.
