AgForce Sheep, Wool and Goats (SWAG) Board remains concerned about the changes to be made to the Livestock Production Assurance Program (LPA) which was announced on 1 August 2024.
The Livestock Production Assurance Program (LPA) is run by Integrity Systems Company (ISC) and is the national livestock industry's on-farm assurance program which provides evidence of animal movement history and on-farm practices when transferring livestock through the value chain.
The proposed changes included frequency of accreditation cycles, a new self-assessment accreditation process rather than the existing questionnaire and an increase in costs associated with the LPA program.
AgForce SWAG remains concerned the changes are to the detriment of industry, despite MLA asserting the changes were approved by the whole of industry.
AgForce SWAG Board President, Stephen Tully stated "The onus just keeps being put back onto producers to front the costs. The new accreditation period is essentially paying more money for less value."
The cost of accreditation and reaccreditation is remaining at $90 plus GST for the new two-year accreditation period, despite this being a shorter accreditation time than before.
This raises the cost of accreditation on a yearly basis from $30/year plus GST to $45/year plus GST.
