Production technologies

Livestock Production Assurance changes approved by industry

Sheep Central August 2, 2024

AUSTRALIA’S Livestock Production Assurance program is to undergo several changes approved by industry, including reaccreditation via self assessment, a shorter accreditation period and a module for harvested rangeland goats.

Meat & Livestock Australia’s subsidiary and LPA manager Integrity Systems Company said the changes are the result of strong collaboration between ISC and the red meat industry, which has endorsed the rule changes, effective from 1 September, 2024.

Other LPA changes include:

  • Voluntary modules, including the Harvested Rangeland Goats module from 1 October 2024;
  • Ability to make additional livestock declarations on the electronic National Vendor Declaration (eNVD), including Meat Standards Australia and health declarations;
  • Opportunities to share audit outcomes from other compliance programs to reduce audit duplication;
  • Updating of data sharing, reporting and notification requirements to ensure fairness and compliance with legislation;
  • Clarified roles, responsibilities and definitions;
  • Clarified process for audits, nonconformities and status changes, and;
  • New processes for handling complaints and issues of concern.

Introduction of self assessment tool

ISC said from 1 September 2024 the existing questionnaire for accreditation and reaccreditation will be replaced with a new self assessment tool. It will take about 20 minutes to complete, is more enriching educational and aim at helping livestock producers increase their LPA awareness.

Upon completion, producers can download a personalised recommendations report which will include suggestions to help inform on-farm changes to increase productivity and compliance with LPA requirements.

Accreditation renewal time change

The renewal period for LPA accreditation from 1 September 2024 will be two years, instead of the existing three years. ISC said this change has been made to help producers stay up to date with LPA requirements, ensure the information remains top of mind and help support the robustness of the program. The cost of accreditation and reaccreditation is $90 plus GST for the two-year accreditation period. This fee helps support the operational costs of running LPA and associated audits, ISC said.

Accreditation will be rolled into this new two-year cycle as it falls due over the next three years.

Integrity Systems Company chief executive officer Jo Quigley said the changes are designed to ensure Australia’s red meat industry continues to be a dominant player in the global supply of red meat.

“The Livestock Production Assurance program is a key component of Australia’s red meat integrity system.

“Accreditation ensures Australian producers can maintain access to markets globally and locally and allows them to attract the best price possible for their quality red meat,” she said.

“Having the ability to add voluntary modules to the program such as for Harvested Rangeland Goats brings a new level of flexibility to the program.

“In the future more voluntary modules will be added, further setting Australia up to be able to continue to compete globally.”

Ms Quigley said the delivery of the new self assessment tool marks a significant step forward in responding to consumer sentiment around animal welfare and biosecurity concerns.

“This new tool offers greater opportunities for red meat producers to understand the LPA requirements and how they relate to specific farm practices.

“We believe this tool and the personalised recommendations report that can be downloaded upon completion will greatly strengthen the integrity credentials of our industry,” she said.

For more information about LPA, please visit: Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) | Integrity Systems

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Comments

  1. Brad Bellinger, August 5, 2024

    The claim that LPA gains us access to markets is entirely false. MLA needs to retract this statement. There are no LPA requirements in the international marketplace and many traders would not even know what it was. Just suck another $90 from us for a worthless document.

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