Biosecurity plan gives early payoffs

This was the strong message from Livestock Biosecurity Network Regional Officer for Victoria and SA Patrick Kluver at the Sheep Connect SA Industry Forum in Adelaide.

He said it was inexpensive for livestock producers to implement a biosecurity plan and had immediate payoffs in preventing the introduction of diseases and their spread if they were inadvertently introduced.

A simple first step was to make use of the compulsory Vendor Sheep Health Statements which must be filled in for all sheep sold at saleyards and detail the lice, footrot, ovine johnes disease and brucellosis disease status of flocks.

"They are not always easy to find but they will be available at the saleyards office," he said.

Dr Kluver also encouraged producers to inspect sheep more thoroughly in sale pens before the sale, to prevent the introduction of these endemic diseases.

"Get in there and tip over 20 or so sheep and look through their wool for lice and check their feet for footrot - and only bid on them once you are satisfied," he said.

It was also critical that producers set up a quarantine area for their new purchases, giving them a quarantine drench and running them through a footbath once they got off the truck.

These new purchases should be kept separate from other mobs for a sufficient period for clinical signs of the disease to emerge.

"Many producers make the mistake of only keeping them separate for seven to 14 days, but it may be six to nine months before lice are seen - and a good spring is needed to see footrot," he said.

"It is much easier to treat one mob than to treat the whole farm if there is a problem."

Dr Kluver said all livestock producers who had a back fence or did not pick sheep which were lame at the saleyards, were using some form of biosecurity but these practices could be further enhanced.

"They need to build good relationships with their neighbours and have a clear plan for what happens to any sheep that end up on the other side of the fence - does the farmer come and get it or do they leave it in their yards rather than just tossing it back over the fence," he said.

The Livestock Biosecurity Network has been funded for a three-year period by the Sheepmeat Council of Australia, Wool Producers Australia and the Cattle Council of Australia to support Australia's livestock sector and ensure it is better prepared and informed on animal health, welfare and biosecurity.

Six officers across Australia have been employed to partner with various organisations to deliver information to producers, and a designated SA officer could soon be employed.

"With the loss of funding from state government departments of agriculture, and officers getting less and less, it must be up to the eyes and ears of the industry - the farmers who are dealing with the sheep and cattle every day -to report anything," Dr Kluver said.

"The payoff is immediate and ongoing in keeping out exotic and endemic diseases."

* Full report in Stock Journal, March 20, 2014 issue.