Victorian Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney announced a $365,000 investment to support the installation of the scanning technology at 26 saleyard and abattoir sites.
In partnership with Allfex Australia and Shearwell Australia, the system will be able to record the details of individual animals as they move through the gate from electronic identification ear tags and panel readers.
The information is automatically uploaded to the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database eliminating manual data entry — significantly reducing costs for farmers while transporting their livestock.
Improving the speed and quality of data uploaded to the NLIS enhances Victoria’s ability to trace the movement of livestock during an emergency animal disease event.
Saleyards that have received the scanning technology are: Bendigo Livestock Exchange, Echuca and District Livestock Exchange, Wangaratta Livestock Exchange and Colac Regional Saleyards.
Abattoirs with the new technology are: MC Herds, Corio; Midfield Meats, Warrnambool; Cedar Meats, Brooklyn; Tallangatta Meat Processors; Gathercoles, Patterson Lakes; and Radfords Warragul.
A further 16 sites are flagged to receive the technology. All major saleyards will be included in this, along with some abattoirs and depot sites.
“Our agriculture industry is incredibly valuable to Victoria’s prosperity and investing in this technology means we are very well placed to understand the movement of livestock now and into the future,” Ms Tierney said.
“This new technology is an extremely effective tool to ensure we are best prepared to quickly respond to the risk of an emergency animal disease outbreak, cementing Victoria as a national leader in livestock traceability.”
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