SA has moved in line with other states with its ovine johnes disease surveillance, after mandatory testing for the disease ended at Thomas Foods International late last month.
A voluntary system is in place, with producers required to fill in request forms if they wish to receive abattoir monitoring results for OJD.
The move has drawn mixed reaction from farmers and industry representatives, with some saying it should be up to individual farmers to monitor for disease, and others arguing it is a missed opportunity to keep on top of OJD.
Chief veterinary officer Roger Paskin said PIRSA was working with the SA Sheep Advisory Group on alternative program proposals for managing OJD in sheep.
“It is likely that new program arrangements will be in place by early June,” he said.
Dr Paskin said there would be no changes to the Enhanced Abattoir Monitoring Program and producers would continue to receive results for conditions such as pneumonia/pleurisy.
Livestock SA president Joe Keynes said the former program had been successful at keeping SA’s OJD levels low.
“Our position has been to support the program that was in place, but the game has changed now and we need to think about a different way of doing things,” he said.
“We look forward to working with SASAG to make sure there’s a program in place that works for all producers.
“What it will really come down to is farm biosecurity plans being a critical part of ensuring producers can demonstrate market assurance for OJD and other diseases.”
Victorian Farmers Federation livestock council chairperson Leonard Vallance said the move was “long overdue”.
“I don’t think it’s a big ask for farmers to look after themselves and their businesses and manage diseases on-farm and implement reasonable biosecurity measures,” he said.
PIRSA said other jurisdictions had shown it was possible to manage OJD effectively without regulatory intervention and that it would be working with industry to determine what measures were appropriate in SA.
TFI declined to comment on the change, while SASAG chairman Ian Rowett said the group would be meeting on Friday about the issue.
VOLUNTARY MOVE A STEP BACKWARD
TANTANOOLA producer Peter Altschwager believes the change in OJD surveillance is a lost opportunity for the state’s sheep industry.
Mr Altschwager was the chairperson of the disbanded SA OJD technical committee for many years.
“I think it’s a shame and it’s a backward step for industry,” he said.
“Moving to deregulation has not been the industry’s preferred option for a long time. It might have been the chief veterinary officer’s preferred option, but it certainly hasn’t been the industry’s option.”
Mr Altschwager said ending mandatory abattoir surveillance removed the important first step in the chain to further OJD detections, as abattoir testing would lead to on-property testing, and then testing at neighbouring properties.
“Unfortunately, for most producers they only notice they have the disease when 6 per cent to 8pc of their sheep have died and by then they’ve lost a lot of money,” he said.
Mr Altschwager believed there was a danger in leaving risk management up to individual farmers.
“I think you only need to look at the amount of feral animals around to see that we need some sort of safety net in place,” he said.
“We have Natural Resource Management boards who try and force farmers to spray their weeds when it’s needed. I just think it’s a shame that we’re taking this backward step, particularly at a time when we’re being forced by end-users to lift our game.”
BIOSECURITY KEY TO MANAGE RISK
SHEEP producer Andrew Michael, Leahcim, Snowtown, said the move away from mandatory ovine johnes disease testing in SA highlighted the need for strong on-farm biosecurity.
“I think the former OJD program served SA well and raised awareness of the disease,” he said.
“I think the change was inevitable and it shows the need for good risk management. Whatever happens with the program, it won’t change what I do on-farm because all my properties have good biosecurity programs in place.”
Mr Michael also owns a property at Willalooka and pastoral land between Burra and Morgan, and said the SE property was at the highest risk of OJD, but this was minimised by the property being surrounded by cattle and having double-fencing.
Kybybolite producer Roger Farley was comfortable with farmers being responsible for their own disease management risk and supported the move to a voluntary system as he believed the cost of paying someone for mandatory testing could be spent in better ways.
“Personally, I think if you want your sheep tested, you should pay the bill and not expect anyone else to pick up the tab,” he said.
Merino SA president Ian Michael, Nyowee, Balaklava, believed it was inevitable SA would move in this direction.
“The johnes program that was in place was a really good program for SA, but with other states not being involved, it did make it difficult,” he said.
“At the end of the day, most livestock producers have their own biosecurity programs on their farms.
“It’s good that if producers still want to have the test done at the abattoir, they can still opt to do that.”
