Originally due by June 30, the new deadline is October 1, following industry pushback on the timeline.

NSW Farmers encourages cattle producers to get organised in the coming months, as biosecurity plans are crucial in relation to the voluntary Johne’s Beef Assurance Score (J-BAS) and they are also a compulsory requirement of Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) accreditation. 

The J-BAS has replaced the CattleMAP and can be included on your health declaration.

On the October 1 deadline, LPA will add biosecurity and animal welfare modules and all accredited cattle producers will need to comply with the new modules.

This means producers need to confirm they have an on-farm biosecurity plan. A J-BAS level 6 requires you to have a biosecurity plan that you keep on farm; to get to level 7 or 8 you’ll need a private vet to sign off on your plan.

In completing a biosecurity plan, producers should document their biosecurity practices that they are already undertaking which could include preparing and requesting a Cattle Health Declaration to support stock transactions.  NSW Farmers encourages producers to use the extra three months to work out which J-BAS score suits their specific business, and to understand the requirements of attaining and retaining that score.

If you have any questions, some Local Land Services vets will be able to help producers to put together their biosecurity plan. Some areas are also holding biosecurity planning workshops – best to get in touch with your local LLS office to find out if they have any planned.

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My South West region stretches to Hay and Griffith in the west, down to the Victorian border (including Leeton, Narrandera, Coleambally, Jerilderie, Berrigan, Bunnaloo and Deniliquin) and I now also cover Wagga Wagga up to Gundagai and down to Albury (including Tumut, Lockhart, Urana and everywhere in between).

Simone Norrie is the South West Regional Services Manager for NSW Farmers. You can contact Simone on 0427 773 495 or norries@nswfarmers.org.au