Forums

Hi.
We were recently ( for the 1st time ever) 'ticked off' for not quarantining new cattle- corrective actions.
We are a small certified farm SEQld - currently 32 breeders, 17 yearlings for breeding 2011, and 16 fully organic calves + bull.
We purchased new cattle for breeding in Sept 2010 from an almost adjacent property where all our cattle are sourced- and a property that I know very well.
I read the standards and it does state new cattle must be quarantined, except for breeders ( so we probably should not have been given a corrective action - BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THIS QUESTION).In practice, I have to change nothing unless I get more outside cattle
On reading the sections 5.1.2, 5.1.7 and 5.1.12 it seems ot me that this is a perfectly sensible protocol for large catle properties where the source of the cattle is not well known and where the cattle are not able to be checked daily etc.
In my case,and I imagine others also, I know the source very well, but more particularly, I use strategic rotational grazing- never in a paddock more that 2-3 days before moving on, and I assess them almost daily especially with Bufalo fly season etc. Additionally, to comply, I now need another 10 paddocks or so to rotate new cattle- rather crazy. So my question is, for new non breeders on small properties ( eg less than 100 cattle or less than 100 ha), shouldn't the standard be modified so that it applies to large properties with their inherent issues and not be an over-kill for all properties. John Jackson

Hello Dr Jackson,

We appreciate your query as it often helps many others understand how and why some of these regulations are able to be applied in the field. We trust the following also assists in clarifying this area. We are happy to discuss this further if you require.

We appreciate that you are going to great lengths to ensure that livestock you purchase in for future breeding purposes are, if not from certified organic sources, from best known sources where livestock have not been treated with conventional treatments and where they have access to lands managed in accord with organic principles, again even if not certified.

Certainly there are no restrictions on stock when they come directly from certified properties, and the ideal and aim is to see more of this occur – granted this is still not always at this point possible. The requirements of the standard are aimed at managing risk from non certified sources, even though we recognize it is difficult to easily apply this equally in all circumstances.

There are many ways in which quarantine paddocks can be managed – and you will notice the main restriction is on subsequent use of such land for cropping of certified crops (a minimum of 12 months). Such time delays are not relevant for use by other livestock – in other words they can be used immediately after use by your certified livestock. In this instance it does not then mean by design that you would be stuck “locking up” considerable sections of your smaller property just for quarantine or holding purposes.

Having said this, the quarantine requirements for incoming non certified livestock are for monitoring and precautionary purposes – both in terms of disease and pest management, while also forming part of requirements with international regulations for organic handling of livestock.

We trust however that with this additional information above this may assist you in ensuring you can meet your future needs for incoming livestock while also complying with the requirements of the ACOM 2010 and related standards. Certainly if you remain concerned about this and its application to your property please do not hesitate to contact us for further discussion.

We thankyou for your enquiry.

BFA Admin