Lamb Production

Victorian saleyards get $230,000 in first sheep and goat EID transition funding

Sheep Central, February 1, 2017

Lambs being sold at Ouyen, Victoria

VICTORIA’S peak livestock saleyard body has been granted $230,000 in the first funding under the Andrews Labor Government’s sheep and goat electronic identification transition package.

More than $72,000 has also been shared among 33 producers in the initial roll-out of the package for them to buy and install infrastructure to benefit from the electronic system.

Minister for Agriculture, Jaala Pulford, said the first electronic National Livestock Identification System (sheep and goats) transition package saleyard grant would be awarded to the Australian Livestock Saleyards Association.

ALSA will use the funding to plan activities, including a series of saleyard workshops, to explain and discuss options for scanning electronic tags on sheep and registering movements on the NLIS database.

The first workshop was held in Bairnsdale this week and will be followed by workshops at Kyneton and Bendigo on February 8, Shepparton on February 9, Casterton on February 14, Ouyen on February 21, and Warracknabeal and Wycheproof on February 22.

The $17 million transition funding includes $7.7 million for subsidised ear tags, and up to $750,000 or a maximum of $3000 per producer to pay for EID equipment and software. This equipment can include wand and panel readers, weighing equipment with EID reader fittings, manual drafting crates or lamb marking cradles with EID reader fittings, or software to record performance data or stock movements on the National Livestock Identification System database. Auto-drafters, computers, laptops, phones, tablets and EID tags are excluded. The saleyards and abattoir sectors will be able to access up to $2.8 million each for equipment and hardware in the package. The package funding for stock agents totals $150,000.

Following the ALSA workshops, each participating saleyard, in partnership with local agents and transporters, will develop an operational plan and prepare an inventory of hardware and software required to support their tag scanning installations and associated data management systems.

The deadline for submitting phase 1 funding requests for saleyard planning and design is March 31, 2017. The deadline for phase 2 funding requests for saleyard infrastructure is June 30, 2017.

Ms Pulford said Victoria is proud to lead the way in ensuring its livestock producers, saleyards and abattoirs have all the tools available to market their produce on the world stage and strengthen our biosecurity system.

“It’s a game-changing move for our industry.”

Other producers, saleyards, stock agents, transporters, scanning contractors, knackeries and abattoirs will also receive funding under the recently announced transition package.

Click here for transition package application details.

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