Call for livestock producers to complete survey

Researchers from the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation are calling for cattle, sheep, goat and dairy producers to have their voices heard via an online survey.

Postdoctoral researcher Dr Jennifer Manyweathers said the confidential survey will take about half an hour to complete.

“Livestock producers play a vital role in surveillance for animal diseases and the survey aims to find out about their management practices and attitudes towards biosecurity,” said Dr Manyweathers.

“We also want to find out how they can be supported to improve animal health management and on-farm profitability.

“Our aim is to build producer-led and partnership-based animal monitoring systems so that Australian livestock industries are more resilient and prepared for an outbreak of emergency animal disease.”

Producers can take part in the survey by clicking on the links below:

The research is part of the FMD Ready project, which aims to improve surveillance, preparedness and return to trade from emergency animal disease incursions using foot-and-mouth disease as a model.

The project is supported by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), through funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as part of its Rural R&D for Profit programme, and by producer levies from Australian FMD-susceptible livestock (cattle, sheep, goats and pigs) industries and Charles Sturt University (CSU), leveraging significant in-kind support from the research partners. 

The research partners for this project are the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), CSU through the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, supported by Animal Health Australia.