As we enter a new year maybe it is time for a few New Year’s resolutions regarding compliance. For the agency sector it is mandatory to be correctly licensed no matter what line of work you may be conducting. A simple check with the Office of Fair Trading will clarify what you require.
As you complete new courses in your career, new forms of licensing may be required. It would be a shame to have completed a deal on either a livestock or property transaction only to find you may not be eligible for your share of the deal or otherwise be fined a considerable amount of money for not being compliant.
Most of the industry by now should have had some exposure to the enhanced biosecurity format for marketing livestock. The attachment to your biosecurity plan in the case of livestock is a national cattle health declaration (CHD) together with your NVD. The CHD provides details of the health status of the herd. For store cattle being sold it allows buyers access to the treatment history of those animals.
For management purposes this is useful information as it can save you money by not doubling up on previous treatments. The CHD is there as a tool to get that previous treatment history. Armed with that information you can then manage your herd health as applicable to your operation.
The CHD is not to be confused with the NVD which is mandatory for the movement of all livestock and relates to the meat side of what status each animal holds. It is important to take care in completing the NVD to ensure that the information is correct and the document is completed in its entirety.
The “d” in NVD and CHD stands for declaration and it important to be mindful that a declaration is being made and signed and there are repercussions if the information is incorrect or misleading.
For the tech savvy ones out there, these forms are also now available electronically. The electronic NVD is free and also includes animal health declarations, Meat Standards Australia (MSA) declarations, and National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) delivery documents.
A major hurdle will be having enough signal to use that technology. But let’s not go down that path regarding services in the bush!
While we are talking about livestock movements, the trucking industry is getting some major pressure regarding effluent issues in their trucks, with some carriers being fined up to $550.
Crackdowns are going to happen on trucks that can not contain effluent and it spills out on roads. This causes a risk to other road users, biosecurity and human health issues in country towns.
To minimise effluent spillage it is important that curfews are observed and that stock are presented in a suitable condition for transport. The target will be mainly producers who cart their own stock into market on their own trucks.
I hope the new year brings a great season for everyone and cattle prices stay at a sustainable level for the whole sector. It will be very interesting to see what other surprises the rural sector has in store for us with the status of our state leadership as well.
A happy new year to all.
- Cyril Close is a member of Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association (ALPA).