OPINION
IT is with great enthusiasm that I welcome the industry into the new year.
As the AFLA team gears up for what is expected be another jam-packed year, I’ll take this opportunity to provide an update on the a couple key priorities we will be looking to address in 2019.
Pregnancy testing
As you are no doubt aware the Queensland Government is reviewing their Veterinary Surgeons Act.
ALFA continues to support government deregulation, allowing industry to develop suitable assurance programs which provide flexibility around management and reduce operating costs to businesses.
With this in mind, ALFA has continued to support the deregulation of the Veterinary Surgeons Act to allow lay persons to diagnose pregnancy in animals.
See the full January edition of the ALFA Lotfeeding Journal here.
Importantly, the act only prescribes who can perform diagnosis procedures which are required to be ‘certified’ by the vendor.
Therefore, if a producer wishes to undertake diagnosis of animals for management purposes, they are not required to meet the stipulations in the surgeons act.
To coincide with this review an industry steering committee has been established to oversee the implementation of a research project which aims to investigate the development of a national standard for pregnancy diagnosis.
The development of a national standard will aim to provide a suitable mechanism in which lay persons can demonstrate competency to accurately provide diagnosis services.
Heat Load
For many parts of the country heat load risk remains high for the coming months.
In recognising the importance of the Cattle Heat Load Toolbox in effectively mitigating risk of heat load, we continue to encourage the utilisation of the tool across the sector.
This year will see increased research conducted heat load indicators to ensure improvements to the tool can be made.
Improvement to the toolbox will aim provide great transparency surrounding risk associated with individual feedlots, improve weather data collected and increase the capacity for feedlot operators to access increase weather data.
Ensuring that research leads to tangible benefits for feedlot operators remains a key imperative for the ALFA Council.
We will continue to engage with our membership over the coming months to ensure that ongoing and new research allows for practical adoption across the sector.
May 2019 be a successful year for you and your businesses.
