GOAT producers can now fill out Livestock Production Assurance property risk assessments and farm biosecurity plans electronically, Meat & Livestock Australia said this week.

Record keeping just got easier for goat producers with updates to the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) system that provide a suite of digital tools for producers to create and store records online.

As of December 2020, property risk assessments and farm biosecurity plans can now be completed and uploaded in a fully electronic form.

Further updates made to the LPA program in December 2020 allow all records required for LPA to be stored in the ‘record keeping’ section of producers’ LPA accounts. This provides one central location for records, saving time and ensuring easy access for both producers and LPA auditors, MLA said.

MLA encouraged goat producers to log into their LPA account and become familiar with the range of helpful tools available to ensure their goat enterprise is meeting the requirements of the LPA program.

LPA provides the tick of approval for on-farm assurance and allows Australian goat producers to stand by what they sell, MLA said.

Editor of the Mohair Australia (Victorian division) newsletter, Lill Roberts, was encouraged by the new changes to the LPA program, particularly in respect to the new digital tools available to complete property risk assessments and farm biosecurity plans online.

“I’m encouraged that this is happening so there is support for record keeping requirements,” Lill said.

LILL is a goat producer operating a lifestyle property producing Angora goats in the south Gippsland region of Victoria, and is critically aware of the need to maintain accurate on-farm records.

“With the threats that we have around biosecurity and the need for sustainable animal production, we’ve got this need to account for everything we do now,” she said.

Goat producers will also soon have further improvements to the digital record keeping tools currently available on user’s LPA accounts. These will enable producers to create and update their records directly within the templates accessed from their LPA account.

MLA welcomed feedback on the new system features through the recently added ‘feedback’ tab on the right-hand side of the LPA website.

Recent updates to the ISC Helpdesk system have meant that producers can now access a range of commonly requested services and information from the Helpdesk 24 hours a day, seven days a week using the Helpdesk’s new self-service function. The option to speak with a customer service officer at the Helpdesk during business hours (9am–5pm AEDT) remains available.

For further information or assistance with LPA record keeping, contact the ISC Helpdesk on 1800 683 111.

Source: MLA.