Feeding
On-farm risk management practices must minimise the risks associated with livestock feeding. This allows producers to market the best product possible, while also protecting Australia's reputation as a safe and reliable global source of red meat and livestock products.
For most producers, feeding stock is a daily management consideration. There are specific inherent risks associated with feeding which can be minimised. These include:
Exposure to unacceptable chemical residues while grazing
- Keeping good records of all on-farm chemical treatments to ensure stock are not exposed to treated pastures or feed within the withholding period (WHP), export slaughter interval (ESI) or export grazing interval (EGI).
- Ensuring any chemicals applied are done so according to the label by a trained and/or competent person.
- Ensuring fences are stock-proof to prevent stock grazing treated paddocks within WHPs, ESIs or EGIs.
- Ensuring chemicals are correctly stored and cannot be accessed by livestock (or inadvertently by people).
Exposure to unacceptable chemical residues in purchased stockfeed
- This is a risk, particularly when trying to source stock fodder as drought feed. If the bought feed was a failed crop or the by-product of a crop not specifically produced as stock feed, it may have been exposed to chemicals which could result in unacceptable residue levels in animal products.
- Producers need to ensure they understand exactly what the feed has been treated with and ideally request a completed commodity vendor declaration (CVD), by-product vendor declaration (BVD) or fodder vendor declaration (FVD).
Feeding meat and bone meal products to ruminant livestock
- The feeding of meat and bone meal products to ruminant animals has been linked to the spread of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in countries afflicted by BSE. Under no circumstances should ruminant livestock be fed meat and bone meal products.
Livestock being fed sub-standard feed:
- Livestock have different feed demands at different times of the year. It is important producers understand this and manage stock appropriately to ensure that they are in appropriate condition at a given time. Tools, such as the feed demand calculator, have been developed to help with this process.
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The Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program helps to manage the risk associated with feeding livestock. Through minimising these risks, producers are actively reinforcing the industry's reputation as a safe and reliable market of quality red meat and livestock products.
More information
- Stockfeed risk assessment summaries:
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