NAIT helping graziers keep up to date

NAIT helping graziers keep up to date

Farmers grazing stock this season can keep track of their animals by ensuring their NAIT records are up to date.

“It’s important to record all off-farm movements of stock to grazing blocks and confirm with NAIT when the animals arrive back on your property,” said Dr Stu Hutchings, OSPRI New Zealand Group Manager, Programme Design and Farm Operations.

“NAIT tags provide a unique identification number for each animal, which can help farmers verify that the same animals they sent for grazing are the ones they are getting back.”

Graziers also have a responsibility to confirm with NAIT when stock arrives on their block and to record the sending movement when the animals return to their originating farm.

A recent upgrade to the NAIT system has made it easier for people in charge of animals (PICAs) to manage their NAIT records. Email notifications now contain more detail about what has occurred and clear instructions if any action needs to be taken. Movement related notifications now include a direct link to the NAIT system, where animal movements can be confirmed or rejected in just a few clicks.

Another upgrade to be released this month will enable sending PICAs to view movement details when the person receiving stock records the movement before the sender does. The sender will then be able to easily record a matching movement, or deny the movement if the details are incorrect.

“Everyone has a role to play in safeguarding New Zealand’s livestock industry and it’s important that farmers and graziers keep their NAIT records up to date. In the event of a disease outbreak, NAIT data will enable a faster and more efficient response, so farmers can get back to business sooner,” said Dr Hutchings.

He also said farmers moving animals for grazing need to play their part in protecting the pastoral production sector from bovine tuberculosis (TB). All herds being moved must be accompanied by an Animal Status Declaration (ASD) form which herdowners need to check has been correctly completed.

“ASD forms record the TB test date of the animal and the herd status to ensure the livestock do not pose a potential disease risk,” said Dr Hutchings.

“Don’t be complacent and don’t think that TB is not out there. Make sure you meet your requirements when moving stock to and from grazing and you will know you have done everything you can to prevent the disease from spreading,” he said.

If you are located in a Movement Control Area, cattle or deer must have a pre-movement TB test within 60 days before being moved for grazing. To find out the testing schedule for a property, visit www.tbfree.org.nz/dcamap and enter the address details.

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