Victoria's livestock industries will be supported with grants from the Victorian Government to further strengthen the state's biosecurity and to prevent and manage pests and diseases.
At a recent announcement, there were 25 projects worth $9.5 million that had been successful under the 2020 Livestock Biosecurity Funds Grant Program.
The grants fund projects that provide innovative solutions, used emerging technologies and tackled livestock biosecurity issues, needs or gaps for the industries.
The grants were administered from the four livestock compensation funds - cattle, sheep and goat, swine and honeybee industries.
The grants include funding for the Victorian Farmers Federation to conduct a producer-led biosecurity extension program funded by both the cattle and sheep and goat compensation funds, for the Livestock Saleyards Association of Victoria to complete the 'Managing Transit Stock in Saleyards' project and for HiveKeepers to complete the 'Smart Sentinel Beehives Pilot Program'.
Government projects funded include the continuation of the National Livestock Identification System for both sheep and cattle, Significant Disease Investigation programs, animal disease investigation courses and abattoir-based pig health surveillance and prevention of anthrax.
Other grant recipients include La Trobe University, CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Agrinous, Victorian Apiarists' Association and the Victorian Recreational Beekeepers Association, all delivering projects to support biosecurity in Victoria.
Changes to legislation last year through the Primary Industries Legislation Amendment Act 2019 had meant more money was now available for programs administered from 2020.
