OJD plan wins cross-border fans

From July 1, the trading barriers will be relaxed, allowing sheep from the Vic Mallee and parts of the Wimmera to be traded freely into all other areas with a Biosecurity Plan, which includes SA.

The area, comprising more than one quarter of Vic, takes in the shires of Buloke, Mildura, Swan Hill, Hindmarsh, Yarriambiack, Gannawarra and the northern portion of West Wimmera to the Little Desert National Park.

The real benefit is expected to be seen during the spring sales at selling centres, such as Ouyen, Yelta and Wycheproof, where SA buyers have traditionally ventured across the border to buy breeding ewes or store lambs.

Victorians will more easily be able to sell their sheep at feature SA sales, such as Pinnaroo off-shears.

The management of OJD has been ongoing with SA spending significant amounts of money to contain the disease to less than 1 per cent of infected flocks. In the past, Vic had not taken the same testing and regulation stance and been excluded from trading freely with SA.

About a year ago, the management rules changed again with approved vaccinates no longer recognised.

Vic flocks wanting to trade with SA had been forced to participate in the OJD Market Assurance Program, undertake abattoir surveillance or test a percentage of their flock, which proved costly and time-consuming.

PIRSA chief veterinary officer Roger Paskin said Biosecurity SA staff had worked actively with producers inside Vic who were setting up the biosecurity area to the required standards and measures that would meet SA standards. He was pleased it had been approved.

"More Vic sheep may be sold within SA, boosting overall sheep numbers in the market and SA producers will have access to breeding stock from that area - which was previously only possible after a complex and expensive testing regime," Dr Paskin said.

SA producers looking to buy sheep from this area would not require any additional paperwork, but he said they would have to ensure that normal livestock movement documentation, including the completed National Vendor Declaration and Sheep Animal Health Statement, was completed.

Driscoll McIllree & Dickinson director Gary Driscoll, based at Nhill, was pleased "commonsense" had prevailed with the new zone helping everyone – not just Vic producers.

"It helps our breeders, but it also gives SA added extra area to purchase suitable lines and generally the border sheep are mostly SA bloodlines anyway."

Mr Driscoll said he had been following the OJD debate for more than a decade since it appeared Vic would be segregated from SA.

He said his clients had been cornered and had always believed any trading zones should have been drawn up east to west, rather than north to south.

"Why would OJD at Pinnaroo be any different from Ouyen? Why would Keith be any different to Kaniva and Nhill and why would Edenhope and Portland be any different to Mount Gambier," Mr Driscoll said.

He did not agree with the SA government's statistics that the incidence of the disease was higher in Vic.

"It was like a lot of political figures – only the ones that suited (certain people) were brought. In recent times, there had been some 'red faced' South Australians test positive to the disease."

Mr Driscoll said those selling Merino breeding ewes would be likely to see greater returns from competition in SA, but Vic first-cross ewe lamb producers had not been copping a discount because of strong demand from the south west of Vic. Prices were fairly comparable between Edenhope and Naracoorte sales last year.

Landmark Loxton's Curly Golding also welcomed the new zone saying it would re-establish free trade and enable producers to put extra competition into these markets.

"Anything that opens up more areas where we can buy sheep from is a positive, otherwise we only have NSW or SA to buy from. From a freight perspective, we can be killing the lambs interstate and get a backload too."