Vet Lee Manning, with a biosecurity sign designed for farm properties, spoke at the Numurkah workshop run by Agriculture Victoria.
Conditions in Victoria created a “perfect storm” for exotic disease outbreaks, a biosecurity forum in Numurkah was told this week.
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The forum — held on Tuesday, August 23 — was the first in the latest series of events organised by Agriculture Victoria to prepare for any possible outbreak of foot and mouth disease or lumpy skin disease.
The discovery of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia in May has put Australian agriculture on high alert.
The Numurkah workshop heard that, unfortunately, Victoria had a number of characteristics that would facilitate the spread of a disease if it got a foothold.
They include the large number of stock movements, the proximity and number of livestock (including intensive industries) and the weather.
A veterinary officer and dairy extension officer from Agriculture Victoria took the forum through the potential disease threats and an explanation of how farmers could protect their own livestock and property.
Dairy extension officer Sarah Clack had some practical examples of decontamination that farmers could use on their properties.
Dairy extension officer Sarah Clack told the forum a property biosecurity plan should be practical, feasible, sustainable and adapted for a particular farm enterprise.
She said the chief risks were the introduction of livestock, the unintentional introduction of livestock (stray animals), close contact with neighbours and the transference of dirt or manure onto the property by people, equipment or feed.
One farmer told the forum the poor state of boundary fences could be responsible for putting neighbouring properties at risk.
After the forum, Katunga farmer Stuart Washington said his chief concern was the international boundaries and the difficulty in keeping infected animals or products out of Australia.
“I just don’t think the Federal Government is strong enough,” he said.
Mr Washington said the obligations on farmers were onerous.
Farmer Bridget Goulding said the forum was informative and it was a pity more farmers were not attending.
Veterinary officer Lee Manning, based at Benalla, said she had already investigated some false alarms as a result of farmers reporting suspicious symptoms in their animals.
She said private veterinarians worked with Agriculture Victoria vets to check and test on suspicious cases. She outlined the process to farmers at the forum and encouraged farmers to report any suspicious cases to their local vet.
The Agriculture Victoria workshops are being delivered in partnership with Dairy Australia and are designed for dairy farmers, with an outline of the current biosecurity risks and taking participants through the development of a biosecurity plan for their business.
For beef, sheep and goat producers, a similar workshop is being delivered at six different locations.
The ability to trace animals when an emergency animal disease is detected is critical to reducing the impacts to Victoria’s agriculture sector.
To help all livestock owners understand their traceability obligations and responsibilities, a series of workshops that steps through the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) will run at Wodonga, Hamilton and Ellinbank.
During this free hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to use the NLIS database to record livestock movements, including property-to-property transfers.
Meanwhile, traceability and biosecurity requirements at agricultural shows, livestock events and rodeos will be covered at a webinar on August 31.
Targeting show and event organisers, the webinar will cover NLIS requirements and how to complete a sighted transfer.
For details about coming activities, as well as information and resources about foot and mouth disease, visit: agriculture.vic.gov.au/fmd
An example of a decontamination point set up near the entrance to a farm.
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