AUSTRALIAN goat producers will have access to an updated National Vendor Declaration from July this year.
The new goat NVD version is among a suite of changes to the NVD system for all livestock species being released this year.
Meat & Livestock Australia said the changes will provide an easier, more efficient and cost-effective system for producers and supply chain stakeholders to interact with Australia’s red meat integrity system.
The NVD communicates the food safety status of every animal every time it moves along the value chain – between properties, to saleyards or to processors.
Integrity Systems Company chief executive officer Dr Jane Weatherley said the current versions of NVDs for goats will continue to be accepted until 31 December 2020.
“From 1 January 2021, only the updated versions of NVDs (0720) will be accepted for goats,” she said.
The digital LPA eNVD system will automatically switch over to the new version from 1 July 2020, so goat producers using this option can have peace of mind that they’re always accessing the latest version, MLA said.
“The new eNVD system does everything the eDEC does but in a more user-friendly way, and as a result, the eDEC system is being decommissioned,” Dr Weatherley said.
Sale of eDEC tokens ended on 30 April 2020. Any eDEC users who have eDEC tokens on their account can use them up until 31 December 2020 when the eDEC will be decommissioned.
After 31 December 2020, users who need or want to continue using an electronic NVD can use the eNVD.
“To accommodate all these NVD changes, the online LPA service centre is undergoing updates which LPA users will notice when they log in,” Dr Weatherley said.
Links to the NVD changes include:
the release of updated versions of NVDs for all species in July
the decommissioning of the eDEC system at the end of the year.
Another key change includes no cost for NVD books until 30 June 2021, as part of MLA’s Accelerated Adoption Initiative announced in November 2019.
Dr Weatherley said the development of updated versions of Livestock Production Assurance NVDs for all species is a result of a 2019 SAFEMEAT review of all current NVD versions, which recommended a number of changes be made.
I sold some sheep this week using an (electronic) eNVD. I created the consignment, but it wouldn’t allow me to fill in the second part of page. So it came through stating the tags were electronic, but they’re not. And still have to print them out in triplicate. So what’s the point? For a start, I don’t have a computer or printer and live 130ks from anywhere. Thank you if you can help me.