DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRY AND FISHERIES
ISSUE 48 – DECEMBER 2012
DARWIN REGION
GPO Box 3000
Darwin NT 0801
Phone: (08) 8999 2214
Editor: Arthur Cameron
ISSN: 1320-727X
There is still change in the air at the moment. Future Beef is the new collaboration to provide information to beef producer in Northern Australia (P2).
There is a changing of the guard in the new/old Department with Dr Malcolm Anderson replacing Dr Brian Radunz as Chief Veterinary Officer for the NT (P15-16). The outbreak of
Bovine Johnes’s Disease (BJD) in Queensland will lead to changes of BJD herd status for parts of that state. This may also have some impact on Territory herds (P9).
Progress is also being made towards the development at Ord Stage Three (P8).
Have a safe and happy Christmas, particularly if you are travelling over the holiday period.
Cheers from the Editor
Arthur Cameron
January 2013
Heidi Wright, FutureBeef Operations Officer, Katherine Research Station
How do you stay ahead in the northern beef industry? How do you access the latest research, information, tools and services to help you and your business become more competitive, productive and profitable?
FutureBeef is a new collaboration of state agricultural research agencies and Meat and
Livestock Australia, committed to bringing the best of beef research, development and extension (RD&E) to your door step. As a joint force, FutureBeef has worked hard to centralise and simplify resources, ready for you to take home and best apply to your business.
Through training workshops, producer demonstration sites, field days, forums, facilitated producer groups, webinars (online seminars), videos, newsletters and publications, Territory producers can now access what they need, when they need it, like never before!
Key themes underpinning the program include reproduction, grazing land management, nutrition and growth, and animal health and welfare.
So, how do you participate or access information through FutureBeef? Jump online and visit the
FutureBeef website . There, you can access essential resources, information on key themes, training/event dates, research projects, industry insights and more. You can also sign up to
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receive the eBulletin in order to keep abreast of industry directives and FutureBeef activities.
Email rebecca.farrell@deedi.qld.gov.au
to subscribe.
FutureBeef was officially launched in Rockhampton at Beef 2012 on 9 May by the Hon John
McVeigh MP, Queensland Minister for Agriculture. FutureBeef is represented by the state government agriculture agencies of NT Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Western
Australia Department of Agriculture and Food and Queensland Department of Development,
Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.
T he Phosphorus management of beef cattle in northern Australia manual is now available from
MLA.
Publication title:
Phosphorus management of beef cattle in northern Australia
Publication code:
9781741919561
In many of regions of northern Australia, phosphorus (P) is a serious nutritional limitation to cattle production. Phosphorus deficiency results in poor performance in most of the factors that make beef production efficient and profitable. This book outlines general principles that can be applied to strategies and practices when feeding phosphorus to beef cattle.
Authors:
 Désirée Jackson, Joe Rolfe, Bernie English, Bill Holmes and Rebecca Gunther (QDAFF)

Rob Dixon (QAAFI)

Peter Smith (DAFWA)

Neil MacDonald (DPIF)
Key messages for managing phosphorus nutrition:
In many of regions of northern Australia, phosphorus (P) is a serious nutritional limitation to cattle production, reducing its efficiency and profitability. Some general principles can be applied to strategies and practices when feeding phosphorus to beef cattle.
1. The animals that need phosphorus most are growing stock, late-pregnant heifers and cows, and lactating cows.
2. Deficient animals respond best to P supplement when their diet has adequate protein and energy. This is why P supplementation is most effective during the wet season.
3. Signs of acute phosphorus deficiency include bone chewing, broken bones, peg-leg, poor body condition of breeders and botulism.
4. There are no simple diagnostic tests for the P status of cattle. Blood and faecal P are the most useful indicators.
5. If P is fed over the wet season on deficient country:
 young growing stock can increase their growth by 30 –40kg/year
 breeders can increase weaning rates by 10 –30%
6. Deficiency is related to soil P status. As a general rule, where soil P levels:
 are deficient (5mg/kg or less), all classes of stock are likely to respond to feeding P
 are marginal (6 –8mg/kg), young breeders are likely to respond to feeding P
 exceed 8mg/kg, the economic benefit from feeding mature cows diminishes.
7. Responses to P supplement may be lower if animals running on P-deficient country have access to adjacent areas of high-P soils, such as frontage country.
8. Supplements should be compared on the cost of their P content, on the practicality of feeding out and on whether the animals will be able or willing to eat target amounts.
9. A typical wet season loose-mix P supplement should contain at least 8% P; a typical dry season supplement will contain 2 –4% P and also non-protein nitrogen (eg urea).
10. On deficient country, lowering the stocking rate will not reduce the need to feed phosphorus.
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11. Where the native pasture on deficient country contains sufficient stylo, cattle may respond significantly to P supplement during the dry season because of the extra protein in their diet.
12. Because cattle eat more pasture when P supplements are fed, stocking rates should be reduced to avoid overgrazing.
13. The economic benefits from feeding P are maximised when done in conjunction with other aspects of good herd management.
To order and/or download:

To order hard copies of the publication (you can order boxes), call the MLA membership services hotline on 1800 675 717 or email publications@mla.com.au

To download, visit the MLA website http://www.mla.com.au/Publications-tools-and-events/Publication-details?pubid=6024
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Whitney Dollemore – Katherine Pastoral Production
NTCA recently supported eight Indonesian students from two universities to undertake work experience and training within the live export industry. The two month exchange included 2weeks formal training and 6-weeks on-station work placement. The formal training component of this program was conducted throughout the NT with students spending time in Alice Springs,
Douglas Daly, Victoria River and Katherine regions, and aimed to increase the students’ knowledge and skills in animal handling, husbandry and animal production. Afterwards, the students then spent 6 weeks on-station training on commercial stations, some of the stations that participated in this program were Cave Creek, Lakefield, VRD, Newry and Carlton Hill. The program placed emphasis particularly on training in Animal welfare which involved a formal
Intensive Animal Welfare Training course that was conducted at the Katherine Research
Station.
The training course was conducted on the 20-21 st July 2012 and was supported by the NTCA, the Department and DAFF. The training course was designed to complement the practical experiences that the students had gained on the on-stations work placements. The course also aimed to equip the students with the extension tools necessary to assist them to train others within the industry upon returning to Indonesia. The topics covered by the course included; animal welfare and the impacts of poor animal welfare, animal behaviour and handling, safety, best practice in livestock handling and transport and traceability and data collection.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the program with Safitri highlighting that “this program is extremely important and should be repeated in the future”. Animal welfare and traceability were hot topics with the students as many of them aspire to be involved in the feedlot, animal transport or research sectors of the Indonesian beef industry in the future. On completion of the program, all students stated that they had gained an extensive amount of knowledge over the past 2 months and intended to pass this information onto others upon return to Indonesia. The hospitality and support of all parties involved in this program are greatly acknowledged and to the students themselves, who always maintained an open-mind resulting in the success of this program.
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On the 11 th and 12 th of April a workshop focusing on the genetics of female reproductive performance was held at the Katherine Rural College, run by the Department and funded by
FutureBeef (the recently launched northern Australian collaborative extension program) and the
Beef CRC. The workshop would not have happened without the support and prodding of the
Katherine Pastoral Industry Advisory Committee (KPIAC) so a big thanks goes to them.
Producer numbers attending the workshop well exceeded expectations and the engagement throughout the workshop proved that the sessions raised plenty of interest and plenty of questions. Overall, participants rated the workshop a 9/10, with 100% saying that they learnt something new. Eighty-nine per cent of participants said the workshop changed their opinion of what they thought was possible to achieve in their business and that they planned on making changes as a result of attending.
It was a diverse group with participants from as far as Charters Towers and Broome. The 44 attendees contributed to the energetic discussion throughout the two days and represented many different production systems including bull breeders, commercial breeders, large scale company operations, small scale family owned operations, operations with nucleus bull breeding herds, indigenous managed leases, research and extension staff and veterinarians.
Attendees represented a total of 31 pastoral enterprises, covering 67,000km 2 and over 400,000 head of cattle.
Central to the discussions over the two days were Wayne Upton, formerly an extension specialist and consultant at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit, University of New England, and John Bertram, formerly based in Alice Springs and more recently a Principal beef cattle extension officer with Qld DPI.
Mr Upton highlighted the latest results from the Beef CRC’s Female Reproductive Performance
Program which has found that genetics play a larger role in female reproductive performance than previously thought.
Specifically two key components of lifetime female reproductive performance; age at puberty
(which determines the start of a heifer’s breeding life), and the time from calving to cycling in first calf heifers; have been found to be moderately to highly heritable in Brahmans and Tropical
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Composites. Further, sires have a large influence on these traits in their female progeny so selecting on these traits will influence lifetime reproductive performance in your herd. This means that you can either make good progress if you are selecting the right bulls or go backwards quickly if you are selecting the wrong bulls.
Mr Bertram shared his expertise on the male side of the equation with one key message being that a bull will produce between 50 and 250 calves in his working life, while a cow will produce 3 to 8 calves. So bulls are driving the genetic progress of your herd meaning bull selection is pretty critical! He emphasised the value of Bull Breeding Soundness Evaluation (BBSE’s) in identifying reproductively sound bulls that will produce you plenty of calves. Mr Bertram also spent some time on understanding and utilising Estimated Breed Values (EBV’s) effectively. In terms of improving female reproductive performance, select bulls with larger, more positive scrotal size EBVs and lower, more negative days to calving EBVs.
From the Department, Tim Schatz presented an overview of NT female fertility research results highlighting that performance is generally low. Trisha Cowley presented information on the Poll
Gene Marker Test that is now available to producer s in today’s environment of ever increasing focus on animal welfare and what may be in store in regards to dehorning requirements. She also gave an update on Genomics and what this may mean for the Brahman breed in coming years in increased accuracy of EBV ’s.
A mock bull auction was held where participants were provided with the EBVs of some young
CDU and the Department Selected Brahman bulls and were charged with the job of “buying” 2 bulls with a $10 000 budget. Participants threw themselves into this wholeheartedly with energetic bidding, though several groups ended up with only 1 bull or none!! This was a highlight of the workshop for many as it put some of the science into practice.
General Manager of Victoria River Downs Station, Rusty Richter, was in attendance along with fellow managers from Pigeon Hole and Flora Valley, and said that “it was important to attend the workshop to broaden his and the company’s knowledge as well as hear different ideas from other producers in the room.”
He said, “Heytesbury will use EBV’s a little more now when looking at differences in bulls while also being mindful of the cost to gain of using such information. It is important to keep everything in context including conformation and structure to compliment EBV informat ion.”
Churchill Fellowships allow you to design your own research project, travel the world and further your knowledge in your chosen field, before returning to make a real contribution to Australian society.
In addition to around 75 core Fellowships awarded each year in any field of endeavour, the
Trust also awards sponsored Fellowships which are generally for a specific field of endeavour that a sponsor is passionate about or sees a need for.
Sponsored Fellowships up for grabs this year include topics involving buffalo industry development, establishment of tropical food gardens in schools, homes or communities and leadership and management. See the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust website for more details:
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AussieGRASS is a spatial modelling framework that estimates various pasture characteristics
(such as growth and total standing dry matter) over a given time period and compares it with historical records. It does this by using rainfall, climate, soil and pasture type information to estimate average pasture growth (among other parameters) over 5 km x 5 km square grids across Australia. Seasonal benchmarking tools such as this are potentially valuable in assisting pastoralists make informed land management decisions.
For more information on AussieGRASS visit the Queensland Government ’s website .
AussieGRASS – December 2012 update
2012/13 Pasture Growth
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Figure 3: Median district pasture growth (running total)
Darwin
Median 2011/12
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
2012/13
1000
750
500
250
0
Northern Alice Springs district
Median 2011/12 2012/13
1000
750
500
250
0
Southern Alice Springs district
Median 2011/12 2012/13
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The Department has received additional $400,000 funding under the NT Government’s recent mini budget to establish an Ord Development Unit. The new Unit will focus on progressing Ord
Stage 3, which could see up to 15 000 hectares developed for agricultural use on the Territory side of the border .
Ord Stage 3 was also given major project status by the Chief Minister on 23 November and it is the first time this status has been granted to a primary industry project in the Northern Territory.
The WA Government recently announced that the preferred developer for Ord Stage 2 was
Chinese company, Shanghai Zhongfu. This company, trading as Kimberley Agricultural
Investment, will develop 15,000 hectares in WA and plans to invest up to $700 million over six years to establish a sugar industry in Kununurra, including the construction of a $250 million sugar mill.
The WA Government has invested around $300 million to build 31 kilometres of new channels and roads to extend the project to within six kilometres of the NT border. This infrastructure will become the catalyst for development of Ord Stage 2.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the
Commonwealth Government to work together to extend the Ord Irrigation Scheme (Stage 3) into the Northern Territory was signed recently in Kununurra following the Northern Australia
Ministerial Forum (NAMF).
NAMF is chaired by the Australian Government Minister for Regional Australia, the Hon. Simon
Crean and includes the Regional Development Ministers from Western Australia, Northern
Territory and Queensland.
The Hon. Alison Anderson, Minister for Regional Development and Indigenous Advancement is the NT’s representative at this forum, and she was joined by Chief Minister Terry Mills and the
Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries the Hon. Willem Westra van Holthe. The department’s Chief Executive Alister Trier provided support to Ministers at the NAMF and official channel opening ceremony which followed.
A cross agency taskforce is being formed and will be chaired by Alister Trier, with the department’s Lorraine Corowa to lead the Ord Development Team.
While there has been no formal decision on how the NT land in the Knox Plain and Keep River areas will be developed, the NT Government is working with counterparts in Western Australia, the Commonwealth Government and with Traditional Owners to ensure early engagement and respectful consultation occur. Much work is to be done to address native title, obtain environmental clearances, release the land and make biosecurity arrangements.
A number of additional important issues for the Northern Territory's primary industries were also discussed at the NAMF meeting, including:

A report on the strategic directions for the Northern Australia Beef Industry and required joint Government and Industry action. This report was developed by the QLD, WA, NT and Australian Governments in close partnership with pastoral industry bodies from those jurisdictions.

New work by the CSIRO which identifies the challenges and opportunities for the emerging carbon economy in Northern Australia. A new publication will be released shortly and available on line.
 Discussion around the role of Northern Australia in the ‘Asian Century’ and the need for private sector and Government investment in infrastructure for potential to be realised.
A new study into food and fibre supply chains across Northern Australia and the continuation of transport logistics modelling work to identify infrastructure needs under various growth scenarios.
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Strategic Plan from 1 July 2012
Australian governments and the livestock grazing industries have reaffirmed their commitment to protect the north and west of the country, and the beef and alpaca sectors, from BJD while allowing dairy and goat producers greater control over how they manage the infection in their herds. (There is no specific program yet in place for the deer industry).
Western Australia will continue as a Free Zone and the Northern Territory, Queensland and northern South Australia will remain Protected Zones. Regulatory measures will continue to protect all susceptible species in these zones and BJD will be controlled and/or eradicated when detected.
Recognising that many dairy herds in Victoria and Tasmania are infected with BJD, these states have been classified as Management Areas. Beef producers in these states will need to manage the risk of BJD entering their herds through a thorough risk assessment of animals they wish to purchase or agist.
The main changes will affect New South Wales and southern South Australia, where the Control
Zone and Protected Zone has been abolished and replaced by the Beef Protected Area (BPA).
Within the BPA there will be a separate ‘dairy compartment’, which is defined as farms that supply milk to a dairy factory, and includes any land the dairy cattle have run on.
The status of herds in CattleMAP , GoatMAP or AlpacaMAP will not be affected.
BJD Zones and Management Areas from July 2012
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The Management Area (MA)
The Management Area covers all of Victoria and mainland Tasmania, where the disease is well established in the dairy industry and where there is a voluntary approach to limiting its spread.
In these areas producers need to manage their own risk and there are a number of tools available to help. Groups of producers can work together to prevent the spread of BJD.
The dairy industry will continue to encourage dairy producers to voluntarily control and manage
BJD through:

hygienic calf-rearing by following the 3-Step Calf Plan or Johne’s Disease Calf
Accreditation Program to reduce new infections within herds

the National Dairy BJD Score to provide assurance for risk-based trading of dairy cattle

sound on-farm biosecurity practices.
Eligible beef producers in the Management Area who want to protect their BJD status and to provide a measure of assurance should use the Beef Only declaration or the CattleMAP when selling and buying cattle.
The Beef Protected Area (BPA)
The new Beef Protected Area covers all of New South Wales and the southern agricultural regions of South Australia. The BPA is being established because BJD among beef herds in the old Control Zone was rare. Because of the much higher incidence of infected herds in the dairy population, it aims to separate beef and dairy enterprises so that the different levels of risk can be managed.
Dairy herds in NSW and SA will form the dairy compartment of the new Beef Protected Area.
The dairy compartment is not a defined geographical area. It encompasses dairies scattered throughout the BPA and covers all farms that supply milk to a dairy factory – including any land the cattle run on. Removing zones from NSW will mean that the location of herds within the state will be irrelevant.
In the new BPA there will still be surveillance to detect BJD, especially on beef farms. The possible spread of BJD from infected dairy properties will be monitored by tracing movements of cattle to beef properties.
Beef producers within the BPA who introduce cattle from a dairy property will need to make sure that they are not buying in BJD infected cattle. Beef properties that are known to be infected or suspect will be placed in quarantine. It is especially important that beef producers avoid buying cattle with a dairy score of zero because they are considered high risk and offer no assurance of not having BJD. Details of new risk-based restrictions on cattle movement into the Beef
Protected Area are available from the NSW and SA departments of primary industries:

NSW Department of Primary Industries

Biosecurity SA
Can cattle be traded between the Management Area and Beef Protected Areas?
Yes
– cattle can be traded between the Management Area and the BPA – but producers need to be aware that ‘BJD comes in on the back of a truck’. Most disease arrives on farm with the purchase or agistment of one or more infected animals that look healthy and normal.
When it comes to BJD, close contact with dairy cattle, dairy production and former dairy pastures pose critical risks. Beef herds in the Management Area (other than CattleMAP or Beef
Only herds) also present a real risk. Producers should always use the National Cattle Health
Statement when buying or selling cattle and ask questions of agents and vendors to ensure they manage the risk of introducing a disease that could affect the health and production of animals on their property.
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Producer awareness of BJD and good biosecurity practices through introducing stock from low risk herds with declared BJD status and reporting of animals showing signs of disease will assist
NT producers in protecting their herds and our valued Territory livestock industry from the introduction of BJD.
The changes to the national management of BJD will not result in significant change to BJD management and control in the Territory. As a BJD Protected Zone, the Territory will continue to maintain regulatory measures to protect all susceptible species from BJD infection, and importation of livestock will continue to require a mandatory NT health certificate/waybill and declaration for the BJD status of the property of origin herd. The BJD conditions relating to movement are outlined below.
What is BJD?
Bovine Johne’s disease (BJD) is a serious intestinal disease affecting ruminants. In Australia it has been reported in cattle, goats, deer and alpaca but is not currently known to exist in the NT.
It is caused by the bacteria, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. The disease has a long incubation period. Livestock are infected young and usually do not show symptoms until at least two years of age. Symptoms can be triggered by stresses such as feed shortages, calving or other diseases. Affected animals can develop chronic diarrhoea and/or wasting which results in production losses and death. There is no treatment for the disease. The major risk to NT producers is through the importation of stock, particularly bulls or dairy cows from herds in areas with a higher prevalence of disease. Recently, a beef herd in Queensland was confirmed as being infected with BJD. Queensland has recorded very few herds infected with BJD, but this occurrence highlights the importance of good biosecurity practices.
NT History of Disease
BJD infection has been reported in the Territory on only three occasions – all resulting from importation of cattle from interstate. BJD was recorded on a property in the Alice Springs area in
1976, associated with clinical infection in two introduced Shorthorn bulls. However, there was no evidence of transmission of the disease in the NT pastoral environment following testing of animals which had been in contact. In 1994 a clinical case was identified in an introduced dairy cow on a property near Katherine. No evidence of transmission within the dairy herd or to other herds was detected, and a successful eradication program was completed in 1995. In 2001, two dairy cattle on the same property near Katherine tested positive to BJD during active surveillance testing prior to movement. Neither cow showed clinical signs of disease. There had been several introductions of imported dairy cows into the herd between the 1994 and 2001 cases. An exhaustive program to trace the movement of animals onto and off the property over a period of several years and follow-up testing of those animals on properties across the
Territory did not detect any further infection. There has been no detection of BJD since then in the Territory.
What can NT beef producers do to protect their herd when introducing imported animals?
For NT producers sourcing cattle or other BJD susceptible stock from interstate, particularly from higher risk management areas or herds, the BJD status of the herd must be checked.
Producers should:
1. Only import stock from herds with a known BJD status.
2. Always request a health declaration when purchasing or agisting stock.
3. Ensure stock are accompanied by a NT health certificate/waybill certified by an interstate inspector and have an associated declaration to support the BJD status.
4. Isolate imported animals showing signs of diarrhoea or loss of condition on arrival.
5. Report cattle showing signs of diarrhoea or wasting to your regional office for investigation.
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BJD conditions relating to the importation of livestock into the Northern Territory
All livestock entering the Territory from interstate MUST have a completed NT Health
Certificate/Waybill. In addition the following BJD conditions must be met.
Cattle and buffalo are not from infected (IN), suspect (SU) or restricted (RD) herd and are accompanied by a National Cattle Health Statement declaring cattle are from:

CattleMAP herd assessed to be MN1 or higher; or

Beef herd that has not introduced dairy or dairy-cross cattle since 1 March 2008 in the
Beef Protected Area; or

Beef Only herd in the Management Area; or
Accompanied by a Dairy BJD Assurance Score Declaration Form declaring cattle are from:

Herd with Dairy BJD Assurance Score 8 or higher
Goats are not from infected (IN), suspect (SU) or restricted (RD) herds and are accompanied by a National Goat Health Statement declaring goats are from:

Herd with an Assurance Rating of 5 (6 for Dairy goats) or higher from the Beef Protected
Area, or

Herd with an Assurance Rating of 7 (8 for Dairy goats) or higher from the Management
Area.
Alpacas and Llamas are not from infected (IN) or suspect (SU) herds and are from:

AlpacaMAP herd assessed to be MN1 or equivalent in the Management Area.
There are also BJD conditions relating to the importation of sheep and deer, which for other reasons require written permission to enter the Territory. Further details on conditions are available on the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries website from the Animal
Biosecurity Branch web page .
The NT cattle industry access to the live export and domestic markets relies on NT properties remaining free of clinical BJD. Monitoring the movement of livestock into the Territory from other
BJD Zones and Management Areas, ensuring imported livestock meet BJD conditions, and investigation of traces from infected or suspect herds and suspect cases reported by industry provides evidence to support and maintain our declared Protected Zone status. Eradication of
BJD from a beef herd can be very expensive due to the costs associated with tracing cattle movements onto and off the infected property and testing large numbers of animals to confirm freedom from disease. Properties declared to be infected with BJD have restricted live export market access to specific countries for a period of 5 years.
NT Producers can protect their herds and industry by minimising the risk of BJD introduction through importing stock with health declarations and reporting suspect cases of BJD to the
Regional Veterinary Officer or Livestock Biosecurity Officer for investigation.
Further Information
Visit Animal Health Australia’s website.
Visit Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Animal Health and Disease web page.
Farm Biosecurity
The potential benefits of implementing biosecurity practices on your property include:

Reduced risks to your farm – better livestock and plant health generally leads to higher productivity.

Early detection and management of any pests or diseases – catch any problems before they take hold

Reduced costs if there is an outbreak of disease, pests or weeds – early detection and sound farm biosecurity systems may result in faster eradication and shorter quarantine periods.
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To maintain a credible export chain, it is vital that the pregnancy status of cattle be verified by competent pregnancy testers prior to export. Female feeder export cattle must be spayed and/or pregnancy tested no more than 30 days prior to export and declared to be non-pregnant to ensure that calves are not born in export yards or feedlots and cattle are fit to travel on the extended journey. There is a risk to the welfare of calves born in transit and in export yards or feedlots and the slaughter of pregnant cattle is unacceptable to the Muslim community.
The Australian Standards for Live Export (ASEL) outlines standards for sourcing feeder cattle and buffalo animals for export. For the purpose of certification that animals intended for export from Northern Territory or Western Australia to certain countries are not pregnant, the relevant agency in the State or Territory may authorise a non-veterinarian to be a competent pregnancy tester.
In the Northern Territory, the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries authorises accreditation. In Western Australia, the WA Veterinary Surgeons Board provides authorisation.
In all other jurisdictions pregnancy testing for export must be done by a registered veterinarian.
The Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries introduced additional measures to the
Pregnancy Testing Accreditation Scheme (since 1 July 2012) to ensure credible pregnancy testing and certification for export feeder cattle.
The measures include:
1. Re-assessment of pregnancy testing competency through a Recognized Training
Organisation (RTO) will be required at the three (3) yearly renewal, starting with renewals due on 31 December 2012. There is a Northern Territory provider available through Charles Darwin University (CDU) Katherine Campus.
2. Record keeping of all pregnancy testing conducted for production and export purposes showing: a) Date of each pregnancy testing examination; b) Name and address of the owner of the cattle; c) Property on which the cattle were examined; d) Number of cattle examined; e) Number of cattle determined to be pregnant by the accredited person.
Production records must be corroborated by an employer and export records may be corroborated by DAFF Biosecurity Live Animal Export veterinarian or Exporter records.
3. Annual reporting of pregnancy testing records by 31 December each year which support a moving average of at least 500 cattle per year over the three (3) year period. The accredited person must submit the following documentation to the Department of
Primary Industry and Fisheries. a) Annual pregnancy testing activity report form; b) Annual pregnancy testing activity records.
The Charles Darwin University (CDU) Katherine Rural Campus provides training and assessment required for export accreditation. Contact CDU on 8973 8311 for further details on the availability of training courses.
More Information
Visit Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Northern Territory Pregnancy Testing
Accreditation for Export web page.
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A further workshop is planned for early next year, so keep your ear out for hopefully another entertaining and energetic exchange of science and commercial realities around breeding to increase female reproductive performance.
For the movement of cattle in the NT there are certain requirements that need to be completed. These requirements are used for the identification and tracing of livestock. These systems provide whole-of-life identification that enables individual animals to be tracked from property of birth to slaughter for food safety, product integrity and market access purposes. Failure to meet these requirements is an offence under the Livestock Act or Regulations and penalties may occur.
NT Waybills
1. A completed Waybill (white copy) must be given to the person in charge of the livestock before the journey begins.
2. If there are livestock in the consignment that you are not the owner of, a second Waybill must be issued for those cattle.
3. The pink copy of the completed Waybill must be sent to the Department within 28 days.
Importing livestock
1. All imported livestock must be issued with a NT Health Certificate before entering the NT.
National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) - The NLIS device is not proof of ownership
1. Approved NLIS devices are registered to that property only and must be purchased by the property owner or have owner’s permission to purchase.
2. Approved NLIS devices must only be applied to livestock on the property that the devices are registered to.
3. All livestock leaving the property must be identified with the appropriate NLIS device registered to the property. a. Breeder devices (white) must be applied to livestock born on the property. b. Post Breeder devices (orange) must be applied to livestock which were not born on the property and do not have a NLIS device already attached.
4. It is the responsibility of the receiver to complete the NLIS transfer onto their PIC and that the transfer is completed on the NLIS database within 48 hours.
5. If a NLIS device is attached to livestock another NLIS device must not be applied.
6. A person must not tamper with a NLIS device.
7. A person must not remove a NLIS device from any livestock unless authorised by an Inspector.
Branding
1. Determines proof of livestock ownership.
2. A Brand is registered for use on the property that is identified on the brand certificate only.
3. All livestock 8 months and older must be branded with a legible brand before departing the property.
4. When you brand livestock it is optional to apply a registered earmark.
5. The earmark is for quick identification to a producer only and not proof of ownership.
6. If an animal has an earmark then there must be a brand on the livestock.
7. Livestock can only have one earmark applied.
8. Cross branding of purchased livestock is o ptional and it is owner’s decision.
9. Cattle ownership disputes or theft are a police matter.
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NT Contacts – Regional Livestock Biosecurity Officers
Darwin Region Ph: 89992030 | Fax: 8999 2146
Ian Doddrell (RLBO) M: 0439 270 039
Katherine Region Ph: 8973 9754 | Fax: 8973 9759
Greg Scott (RLBO) M: 0418 895 084
GPO Box 3000, Darwin NT 0801
Tennant Creek Region Ph: 8962 4458 | Fax: 8962 4480
Tom Haines (RLBO) M: 0401 113 445
PO Box 159, Tennant Creek NT 0861
PO Box 1346, Katherine NT 0851
Alice Springs Region Ph: 8951 8125 | Fax: 8951 8123
Greg Crawford (RLBO) M: 0401 118 125
PO Box 8760, Alice Springs NT 0871
Animal Health Website NT Property Identification Code NLIS Website www.nt.gov.au/d/animalhealth http://pic.primaryindustry.nt.gov.au
www.nt.gov.au/d/nlis
Livestock Producer Assurance (LPA)
1. The National Vendor Declaration/Waybill (NVD) is an industry market requirement.
2. NVD books are purchased through the LPA and not from the Department.
LPA Contacts: LPA Hotline Ph: 1800 683 111 | Email: lpa@mla.com.au
The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) is a National system developed for the identification and tracing of livestock. It is a permanent whole-of-life identification system that enables individual animals to be tracked from property of birth to slaughter for food safety, product integrity and market access purposes. The NILS is the main information system used throughout Australia to trace cattle in the event of an Emergency Disease incident.
NLIS was developed and implemented nationally in 2003 with the NT becoming fully compliant with the
NLIS from 1 July 2007. Upon commencement all cattle moving to another property, export yard, saleyard or interstate required an approved NLIS radio frequency identification device (RFID) attached to the right ear prior to leaving the property. The exemption to this requirement was cattle leaving their property of birth going direct to live export through an approved export yard did not require an RFID to be attached or cattle moving direct from the property of birth to an NT abattoir only required an approved transaction tag attached.
In June 2011 the Federal Government suspended all live exports of cattle to Indonesia on animal welfare grounds. On resumption of the live export trade one of the conditions for the trade to resume was that all cattle being exported live to Indonesia are required to be traceable to the point of slaughter in Indonesia.
Therefore an RFID must be attached to the animal prior to movement and recorded on the NLIS database. This decision has resulted in changes to the Livestock Regulations for the identification of cattle moving in the NT.
As of the 1 January 2013 ALL cattle regardless of destination will require an RFID attached to the right ear prior to movement off a property.
An addition to the Livestock Regulations is that as of 1 January 2013 the Registrar can approve movement of cattle, buffalo, sheep or goats without an NLIS device or tag attached. This Regulation has been implemented to allow for movement of livestock in special circumstances without NLIS identification.
Example of when this can be applied would be;
1. Natural Disaster: Natural disaster events such as cyclone, flood, fire. a. After a natural disaster which has resulted in livestock unintentionally having moved from their original property and are required to be moved back home b. or are required to be moved to another property to avoid stock losses
2. Return of stray stock from a neighbour’s property.
Please contact your Regional Biosecurity office if you would like to discuss these changes in more detail or for further information. Contact details for Regional offices are outlined in the information provided. For application to the Registrar to move livestock without an NLIS device or tag attached please contact the
Registrar.
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DARWIN - Ian Doddrell
Regional Livestock Biosecurity Officer
Phone: 08 8999 2030 Mobile: 0439 270 039
KATHERINE - Greg Scott
Regional Livestock Biosecurity Officer
Phone: 08 8973 9754 Mobile: 0418 895 084
Sharon Kearney P: 08 8999 2031
Registrar Mobile: 0401 112 031
Email:sharon.kearney@nt.gov.au
TENNANT CREEK - Tom Haines
Regional Livestock Biosecurity Officer
Phone: 08 8962 4458 Mobile: 0401 113 445
ALICE SPRINGS - Greg Crawford
Regional Livestock Biosecurity Officer
Phone: 08 8951 8125 Mobile: 0401 118 125
Animal Health Website : www.nt.gov.au/d/animalhealth
A walk down memory lane for Chief Veterinary Officer Brian Radunz
Following 35 years of dedicated service to the Northern Territory, including 13 years in the role of the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) and Chief Inspector of Stock, Brian Radunz has handed over the reins to Dr Malcolm Anderson and now is easing into part-time employment.
Brian started his career with the Northern Territory Government as a 3 rd year veterinary cadet in
1969. He then moved into fulltime employment as a Veterinary Officer in January 1972 initially in Darwin and then onto Katherine. His management skills and leadership ability were soon recognised with a promotion to the position of Regional Veterinary Officer at Katherine in 1974 and then as the Regional Co-ordinator in 1980.
During the 1980s, Brian headed to the southern states for 6 years to work as a Senior
Veterinary Officer in SA, Canberra and NSW, but was drawn back to the wide open spaces of the Territory in 1989 as the District Veterinary Officer in Alice Springs. He then spent 2 years in
Tennant Creek as the Regional Veterinary Officer and Regional Coordinator.
In 1989, Brian moved to Darwin to take on the role of Deputy Director Animal Health Division.
Brian then remained in Darwin as Principal Veterinary Officer to manage Brucellosis and
Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign (BTEC) and the Livestock Market Health Assurance from
1997-1999 before becoming CVO in 1999.
Brian was instrumental in one of Australia’s most notable animal health achievements - the success of the BTEC. The campaign also resulted in huge changes to the Territory cattle industry, particularly in areas of livestock management and infrastructure. His personal contribution to the campaign is recognised in the book ‘Beating the Odds in a big country’.
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Brian has also made a significant impact nationally and is highly regarded by his interstate counterparts. This is shown by his peers selecting him on two occasions to chair the national
Animal Health Committee (AHC). Brian has done an excellent job of representing the Territory at national focus and has played a key role both within the Territory and nationally in achieving consensus on some difficult and contentious subjects. An example of this is his successful chairing of the national Bovine Johne’s Disease (BJD) Committee.
During his time in the Territory Brian said he has seen enormous change. In his early years, feral buffalo, bull catchers and pet meaters were widespread, with Territory shorthorn cattle still widely bred, a number of abattoirs operating and live exports only just a trickle.
Brian will continue to work for Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries part-time to complete three key projects. These include the development of the national cattle welfare standards and guidelines, a review of the Australian Standards for Live Export (ASEL) and amendments to the NT Veterinarians Act . Brian plans at this stage to retire in September 2013.
We would like to thank Brian for his very significant contribution to animal health policy and operational management and advances in the livestock industries both nationally and locally over the past four decades. His dedication and achievements were recognised in 2008 when his colleagues nominated in for the Department’s Stars Award and in 2011 when he was awarded the Chief Ministers Public Service Medal for his services to the Territory’s pastoral industries – a well-deserved and fitting recognition.
New Territory Chief Veterinary Officer
A new Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), Dr Malcolm Anderson started work in the Northern
Territory on 26 th November 2012.
Dr Anderson will have big shoes to fill as he takes over the reins from his highly respected predecessor Dr Brian Radunz and a series of other wellknown NT CVO’s including Colonel
Lionel Rose after whom part of the Darwin Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory is named.
Malcolm has been working with Biosecurity South Australia since 2007 as the Manager of their
Disease Surveillance program and is well known by the SA livestock industry. Whilst working in that role he has also been the SA Planning Manager in their team for responses to outbreaks of exotic animal diseases and in 2011 was a member of a team working in Cambodia and Laos on an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project on Foot and Mouth
Disease (FMD). He has also been involved with a project on Rabies in Bali.
Originally a graduate of Murdoch University, WA, Malcolm has previously worked in a variety of government or private roles in SA and Western Australia including as an export consultant veterinarian with shipments of live animals to the Middle East, Malaysia and Pakistan. Along the way, Malcolm has studied Bahasa Indonesia and has a Masters in Veterinary Public Health from Sydney University.
Malcolm says he is greatly looking forward to working with the NT team and will be based at the
Berrimah Research Farm in Darwin.
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Introduction of the Land Transport Standards in the Territory
The Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines - Land Transport of Livestock, known as the Land Transport Standards (LTS) is a set of nationally agreed standards and guidelines developed to ensure appropriate livestock welfare during the transport process. The LTS are based on the revision of the Model Codes of Practice for Welfare for the transport of various livestock species and were developed by the livestock industries and government in consultation with stakeholders.
The LTS cover the transport of livestock by road. A separate set of standards, the Australian
Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL), cover the requirements for export of livestock by ship. The ASEL are currently being reviewed.
Responsibilities during transport
The LTS apply to all people responsible for the management of livestock at all stages in the livestock transport process. The consignor is responsible for mustering and assembling of livestock in yards, preparation of livestock and selection as fit for the intended journey, supply of feed and water prior to transport and holding periods before loading.
The transporter is responsible for final inspection as fit for the intended journey, loading and loading density, inspections during transport, spelling periods during the journey and unloading.
For a journey over 24 hours, the transporter must have records of the date and time that stock last had access to water, inspections, any welfare concerns, actions taken and emergency contact details. This information must be provided to the person in charge when the responsibility for stock is transferred during the journey.
The receiver is responsible for the management of stock after unloading.
The LTS are divided into two sections. Part A outlines general standards and guidelines that apply to all livestock species and Part B provides specific standards and guidelines for each livestock species.
Standards are the MUST DO requirements for livestock welfare and are the minimum standards for livestock management practices. Guidelines are recommended practices to achieve desirable welfare outcomes - the SHOULD DO and complement the standards.
How will LTS be enforced?
In the Northern Territory, the LTS has been adopted under the Livestock Regulations .
Compliance and enforcement activity will be undertaken by Department of Primary Industry and
Fisheries Veterinary Officers and Livestock Biosecurity Officers from 1 January 2013. In other
States, LTS will be regulated by government agencies responsible for animal welfare legislation.
Information on LTS was posted to all properties in October and information sessions were held in Regions during early December.
Cattle Standards and Guidelines
The cattle standards and guidelines are the next in the series of livestock standards to be developed and will likely be available for public consultation during January 2013. A copy of the cattle standards and guidelines will be available for public comment on the Australian Animal
Welfare Standards and Guidelines website during this time.
More information
Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Land Transport Standards (LTS) for Livestock webpage .
Land Transport Standards website
Meat and Livestock Australia’s website
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Release of Hendra virus vaccine
After several years research, a vaccine against Hendra virus – Equivac HeV has been released under a minor use permit to accredited veterinarians. It is expected that the vaccine will be available to accredited Northern Territory vets from December 2012. Under permit conditions, the accredited vet must microchip vaccinated horses and record details on a national vaccine register for horses. Two doses of vaccine are required 21 days apart for primary immunisation.
Initial vaccine trials have shown complete protection when vaccinated horses have been challenged with Hendra virus. The vaccine will reduce the risk of Hendra virus exposure to horse owners, handlers and vets.
Hendra virus is a virus present in flying foxes (fruit bats) that on very rare occasions may spillover and cause disease in horses and people in contact with infected horses. It can be fatal.
Four species of Australian flying foxes (grey-headed flying fox, black flying fox, little red flying fox and spectacled flying fox) carry the virus but do not show symptoms of disease. Only the little red flying fox and the black flying fox are found in Northern Territory.
Hendra virus is believed to be spread between flying foxes through faeces, urine and saliva in colonies. Scientists believe infection in horses may occur through ingestion of grass or partially eaten fruit contaminated with bat urine, saliva or other body fluids, such as birthing fluids.
Hendra virus has only been transmitted to people through very close contact with secretions or body fluids of infected horses. There is no evidence of spread between flying foxes and humans or human to human spread.
Hendra virus has not been reported in horses or humans in the Territory, however it is important that all suspect cases are reported to your local vet for investigation. Hendra virus is a notifiable disease. The vaccine is only available from accredited vets. Please contact your local vet if you wish to have your horses vaccinated.
Further information
Horse owners - Visit Health 4 horses website
Vets – Visit Vets Australia website
Bayticol Pour-on – Discontinued supply by Bayer
Bayer has recently discontinued the supply of Bayticol pour-on to the Australian market. This is due to concerns raised by SAFEMEAT about the potential risk of cattle treated with the product which have been rejected from live export, entering the domestic and export meat supply chain.
The registration of Bayticol pour-on for use as a general tickicide was cancelled in 2002.
As a result, Bayticol pour-on was no longer used for routine tick control on property or for pretreatment of cattle tick prior to inspection and supervised treatment in a plunge dip for movement of to tick free areas. The use of Bayticol pour-on for live export cattle was not affected at this time.
The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA) began a review of the product in December 2001 following concerns that the use of the product according to label instructions would result in beef fat residues that exceeded the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) which would pose a potential risk to Australia’s international trade. Flumethrin, the active ingredient of Bayticol pour-on is not registered in some overseas countries. The US has a zero tolerance to flumethrin residues. Detection of flumethrin residues in Australian meat would have a significant impact on access to these markets. In February 2002, Bayer voluntarily requested that the APVMA cancel the registration of Bayticol pour-on cattle tickicide and APVMA cancelled the registration on 31 March 2002.
NT resellers and producers with existing product may continue to sell existing stocks and use the product as directed on the label. The potential risk associated with rejected cattle from live export supply chain treated with Bayticol pour-on must be managed by cattle producers and exporters until the supply runs out, so that treated cattle do not enter the meat export supply chain.
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The product label clearly outlines conditions for use. It is important to remember that until supplies run out, Bayticol pour-on may only be used as a live export clearing tickicide prior to
IMMEDIATE live export.
Animal Biosecurity Disease Investigations
A large proportion of laboratory submissions have been for disease surveillance and research activities as well as health certification for animals going to export markets. A few cases of downer animals were investigated with bovine ephemeral fever as the most likely cause.
Several submissions to check for internal parasites were received. In one case 23 out of 750 weaner cattle died after showing signs of diarrhoea. Salmonella was cultured from half of the faecal samples submitted. In two separate incidents, goats were diagnosed with enterotoxaemia due to the sudden increase of supplementary feed prompted by very dry pastures.
Bronchopneumonia after transportation – Exotic Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia excluded
A post mortem was carried out on a 6-year-old cow that died in the spelling yards following long distance road transport. Histopathology revealed the presence of severe bronchopneumonia combined with severe liver lesions. Two bacteria Pasteurella multocida and Trueperella
pyogenes were isolated from the lung tissue.
P. multocida is an important pathogen of the bovine respiratory system. The stress associated with road transportation is the most probable factor that precipitated the severe pneumonia. T. pyogenes is an opportunistic pathogen that is occasionally isolated along with other respiratory pathogens. Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia was excluded at the Australian Animal Health
Laboratories (AAHL) in Geelong, Victoria from samples of lung tissue and pleural fluid.
Bovine Herpes Virus-2 (BHV-2) skin lesions – Exotic Lumpy Skin disease excluded
Nodular skin lesions were reported in a 6-year-old Brahman cow. The nodules could be easily removed, leaving a hairless skin patch. There were also lesions on the legs and flanks.
Microscopy confirmed chronic dermatitis with secondary bacterial infection. This is consistent with bovine herpes virus-2 (BHV-2) infection, known as pseudo-lumpy skin disease. Capripox virus infection, causing true lumpy skin disease was excluded at AAHL.
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This is the fourth report of the disease in the Katherine region this year. An Australia wide survey has shown that the virus appears to be more prevalent in the far north of the Northern
Territory, with 93% of herds showing positive antibodies to BHV-2. The disease generally has a high infection rate which is usually self-limiting. Animals completely recover within a couple of months. It is spread from one animal to another by biting flies.
A reminder that the use of shotguns using lead shot as an aid to mustering is an unacceptable practice. Industry needs to aware of the risks to the meat export market as well as local meat trade associated with detections of lead pellet contamination in carcases at abattoirs. Firearm operators also need to understand the welfare issues associated with the inappropriate use of ammunition when mustering stock and suitable firearms for the effective destruction of stock.
A reminder that the use of shotguns using lead shot as an aid to mustering is an unacceptable practice.
Industry needs to aware of the risks to the meat export market as well as local meat trade associated with detections of lead pellet contamination in carcases at abattoirs. Firearm operators also need to understand the welfare issues associated with the inappropriate use of ammunition when mustering stock and suitable firearms for the effective destruction of stock.
Ingredients

1 packet plain sweet biscuits (Nice, Arrowroot, Marie or Wheatmeal Biscuits)

3 tblspns cocoa powder, sifted to remove lumps

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 can sweetened condensed milk**

2-3 tblspns rum (Bundaberg rum works well)*

1 cup extra coconut (for rolling finished balls in)
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