Taking NAIT seriously
North Otago calf rearer Jared Ovens believes the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak has led to more farmers embracing animal traceability.
The development uses Land Information New Zealand’s (LINZ) parcel data as the primary building block of NAIT’s Farm Location information. The system upgrade is scheduled for early 2019; it follows a recommendation in a review of NAIT.
It will address farmer and industry uncertainty about assigning a farm location in the NAIT system and whether it meets the ‘10km rule’ criteria.
“We know this has frustrated and irrittated farmers when they’ve tried to register their farm locations in NAIT. The interactive map will be more self-explanatory and less confusing for NAIT users who have found the 10km rule challenging to interpret,” says head of traceability Kevin Forward.
“This is an important step for the NAIT programme and will allow NAIT and its partners to trace movements and future livestock disease outbreaks with more accuracy.”
The system upgrade also includes a new registration form to capture other key details.
“In the new registration form there are additional fields for specific information on animals held at a property. This will have benefits for our traceability capability and biosecurity readiness and response.
“Effective livestock traceability relies on accurate information about animals and their location. It also can inform decision-making on managing and controlling a biosecurity incursion.”
Information on how to complete the new registration process will be sent to NAIT users in January 2019.
