🌐 The importance of tracking livestock treatments

To keep livestock healthy, you have to stay on top of diseases and parasites. An essential part of any treatment program is keeping accurate and detailed records. As well as being a legal requirement, it has several benefits for your operation.

Maintaining biosecurity

If there’s an unexpected disease outbreak in your district, reliable treatment records are vital. They can assist in tracing the infection to its source, even if it’s just by ruling your property out. They will also help to identify if any of your animals are at risk of infection or need treatment.

Managing drench resistance

Drench resistance limits the drench products you can use and their effectiveness. It also makes it harder to prepare low-worm-risk paddocks. Detailed treatment records across several seasons make it easier to plan drench rotations, which slow the development of drench resistance.

Passing audits

The safety of Australia’s red meat industry and the welfare of its animals is backed by the Livestock Production Assurance scheme. LPA-accredited producers must administer animal treatments safely and responsibly. In the event of an audit, you need to show treatment records that support this.

Selling livestock

An LPA National Vendor Declaration tells buyers the treatment status of livestock. It shows withholding periods and export slaughter intervals following treatments, along with hormone growth promotant (HGP) status. There are also National Animal Health Declarations, often requested in saleyards and producer-to-producer sales, with vaccination and drenching details. Naturally, both declarations need to be backed by your records.

Inventory management

Precise tracking of livestock treatments allows you to calculate exactly how much product you need to get your vaccinations or drenching done. That means better budgeting and less wastage.

Management planning

Reliable treatment records are essential for decisions around animal health and welfare practices. If the need for drenching is on the rise, it could inspire a change in pasture management to control parasites. You might weigh up the gains from HGP against the loss of HGP-free markets. Being able to review your treatment records over time, along with the costs involved, gives you insights that will help you be more productive in the future.

Tracking livestock treatments is simple with AgriWebb. You can update records in the field, and inventory is automatically adjusted as you use it. All the information is stored securely in the cloud and up-to-date reports are generated at the touch of a button, so you can pass audits with ease.