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Where Does That Cow Come From

The National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS) is being progressively implemented by Victoria’s cattle industry in partnership with the Victorian Government.

By Department of Primary Industries - 4th June 2003 - Back to News

The National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS) is being progressively implemented by Victoria’s cattle industry in partnership with the Victorian Government. As a result, more and more cattle are being NLIS tagged, and as such will remain identifiable for their entire lives.

"Whole of life" identification will allow for the speedy and accurate traceability of livestock and livestock product. It will protect and enhance Victoria’s reputation as a supplier of safe, wholesome beef and dairy products.

As part of the implementation of NLIS, all Victorian beef and dairy farmers should recently have received a letter signed by members of the livestock industry. The letter contains a plastic card about the size of a credit card on which is printed the farmer’s name, address and Property Identification Code (PIC).

The card is designed to make it easy for farmers who buy cattle at saleyards to provide the saleyard administration with the necessary information to enable the transferral of ownership of cattle from one person to another.

All you have to do when you purchase cattle is take the card from your wallet and provide your selling agent with the PIC of the property to which the cattle will be taken.

The selling agent is then able to provide saleyard administration with an accurate list of the PIC's’of buyers to enable efficient registration of cattle transactions and full and accurate traceability.

Traceability means that product can be ‘tracked’ from paddock to plate and vice-versa. A recent conversation with a saleyard operator provided a good analogy. The operator said, "This cattle identification system is no different to going to a supermarket to buy a can of coke. The can is an individual product with its own identification. The presence of a bar code means that the origin of the product and where that product has been can be readily determined. As you hand over your money at the supermarket the product is scanned at the checkout and ownership is transferred, just as the ownership of cattle will be transferred when they are sold and scanned at a saleyard."

Fast and accurate traceability provides confidence to domestic and overseas markets. It will ensure that any food safety or exotic disease incident that might occur is sourced and controlled as soon as is possible, and this will allow for a speedy return to normal trading conditions.

DUE COURSE FOR GORSE

The Federal Government has identified the weed Gorse (also known as Furze) Ulex Europaeus as a Weed of National Significance and through the National Heritage Trust (NHT) has provided funding to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to target new and existing infestations of the weed throughout Victoria.

Compared to some other regions, Gippsland has a relatively small number of Gorse infestations (approximately 130 known sites are recorded) and there is the possibility of eradicating the weed from the area through intensive management.

Local Catchment Management Officers in West Gippsland, Ian Brown and Alan Jeffries, have been inspecting these known infestations and any new ones in the West Gippsland area since March 2003.

Gorse is a regionally prohibited weed in the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority region. This means that it is the responsibility of the landholder to control it on their land.

In response to the Gorse inspections, many private landholders have been targeting Gorse on their properties and Department of Primary Industries works crews have been enlisted to spray it on roadsides in the West Gippsland area.

Mr Brown, Catchment Management Officer at Yarram, said that the majority of land managers have been treating the gorse on their properties but there are still some land managers that need to work on theirs.

"Congratulations must go to those land managers that have been busy treating or removing the plants," Mr Brown said.

"In order to reduce the amount of gorse in the catchment or even eradicate it, it must be done as a group effort and not just the minority to carry the burden of doing all the work."

Methods of Gorse control include chemical control or mechanical removal. Any regrowth should be dealt with by follow up spraying, cultivation and/or heavy grazing with sheep. (Any chemical used must be registered for use on Gorse (Furze). Please read and heed the label).

If you suspect you have Gorse on your property or would like further information, please contact your nearest Department of Primary Industries office or the Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

DUNG BEETLES

One of the most intriguing creatures found in nature surely is the dung beetle.

The adult beetles fly actively in search of fresh dung, some species by day and some by night. They can apparently fly for miles and can detect dung by smell over great distances.

When they land on a fresh dung pad they immediately burrow into it and start feeding. The mouths of the adult beetles are so formed that they can only suck the fluids of the fresh dung, and they feed on nothing else.

Once in the dung the beetles pair off, a male and a female working together to make dung balls for breeding. The female digs tunnels in the soil directly under the pad, and the male carries dung down the tunnels.

Dung beetles found in paddocks in Victoria could be either native or introduced species.

Native dung beetles occur throughout Victoria and are specialised to live on the dung of native animals. However, they may occasionally be found in the dung of introduced animals.

Dung beetles were introduced to Victoria by the CSIRO from the early 1970s until the early 1980s. These beetles came from Africa or Asia, where they were adapted to feed, and breed, in the dung of large herbivores. This makes them suited to the dung of our introduced farm animals.

Some of these introduced species have become established in Victoria and may be found in paddocks along with native ones.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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