Agmates

Victorian / New South Wales 5th Generation Upper Murray farmer and small business person Stephen Blair speaks out about his persecution by DPI bureaucrats that resulted in him being fined a total of $17,300 for NLIS (National Livestock Identification Scheme) breaches in an Albury Court last week.

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NSW / VIC Farmer Stephen Blair (pictured) writes:

DPI Grandstanding Premature and Inaccurate

The charges laid by the DPI against myself arose after extensive surveillance and undercover action by the Victorian Department of Primary Industry (DPI), NSW DPI and Hume Rural Lands Protection Board.

My only crime is running two properties, one in Victoria, on the border at Tallangatta and the other, Little Billabong at Holbrook in NSW. The properties are 100 kms. apart in direct line, and 150 kms. by road. They are located in adjoining local councils/shires, being Towong in Victoria and Hume in NSW.

Click Here to see the location of my properties and the Corryong saleyards in Victoria.

The DPI admitted in court that utilising the same NLIS ear tag on different properties under one management/ownership, in adjoining local council areas, in both states is common .

They also admitted that there are several examples of people utilising either State’s tag in the adjoining State, where a property crosses the river or border .e.g. Jingellic, Victoria/ NSW and Gondawindi, NSW/Queensland.

Utilising Victorian NLIS tags in NSW is by itself not a breach of the regulations, but doing so and then removing them from the property is.

In relation to this particular incident there were 800 cattle in the yards, with eight people working on them and trucks going to sale at Corryong (VIC), agistment in the North and back to the home property in Victoria.

Photo #2: Our property’s have been in the grips of the 6 year drought that has reeked havoc in Southern Australia. The shot below is of myself and my family hand feeding our cattle. We have not only had to contend with the stress of this ‘never ending drought’ but on top of that the ‘harassment’ of these DPI bureaucrats has taken a huge toll on my personal health not to mention my families well being.

I could not guarantee that cattle tagged that day did not leave the property. I could establish that some may have been tagged and left the property so I pleaded to a number less than 25, Not 177 as the DPI charged and are apparently still claiming.

The DPI have admitted that they could not prove due to insufficient evidence that any cattle had left the property after being tagged in breach of the regulations so my plea of guilty in relation to a number less than 25 was no doubt a relief and a godsend to the DPI, given their now grandstanding activities.

Minister MacDonald (NSW Minister for Primary Industries pictured) linking my behaviour and actions with a ‘foot and mouth disease outbreak’ (click on link to see ministers statement) or any disease outbreak is scurrilous and damaging.

My herd has been closed for 50 years with the only introductions being stud sires and the occasional stud cows for genetic improvement. Indeed it is the only herd in Australia that carries a MN3 Johnes Disease status in two states - NSW and Victoria.

This accreditation is only obtained after rigorous auditing, whole herd blood testing and extensive on farm management and administrative reporting: the scheme is administered by the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA.)

Is Minister McDonald suggesting that the actual MLA disease testing and auditing procedures are deficient? i.e. similar Commonwealth Legislation that he now seeks to enforce on a state basis.

Remember, this is a closed Angus stud and commercial operation on two properties only with stringent management and audit requirements, not just for Johnes.

Minister McDonald’s statement that “Mr Blair’s actions could have delayed tracing long enough to allow a small outbreak of a devastating disease like foot and mouth to spread throughout the country” is defamatory and damaging and appropriate remedies will be sought.

The DPI also dropped another charge of obstructing an officer, also due to a lack of evidence: no mention of this in their grandstanding press release. Erroneously and unfairly, their costs for this charge were also lumped on me by the Magistrate.

An appeal has been lodged against:
• The conviction - being my first offence in any court or jurisdiction
• The severity of the fine
• The costs order.

Consideration has also been given to an application for a re-hearing and plea due to Magistrate Leferve’s obvious bias.

A letter has been sent to the Chief Magistrate of NSW in this regard, to clarify why Leferve heard the case when he had earlier disqualified himself due to his self-admitted attitude towards me, as a result of my behaviour to the court - (not DPI!).

Indeed he mocked me publicly in January 2008 when I was unable to attend court, due to being hospitalised under a stress-related health issue.

I am also intrigued by the DPI’s selective action and prosecution. The NSW DPI’s so-called Agricultural Compliance Manager, Andrew Sanger has been contacted in relation to much more serious breaches of the regulations e.g no NVD and no NLIS on movement of cattle, and he/ the DPI/the Minister have chosen to take no action.

I am not seeking sympathy just a fair go and real justice.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Blair

Monday, June 30, 2008

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Have your say! Leave Farmer Stephen Blair your message of support or your thoughts on the issue.

Northern Territory Cattleman Rod Dunbar “Nutwood Downs” writes:

It is certainly good to read a transcript of Australian Beef Associations (ABA) John Carter’s USA address in last weeks Agmates AgNews.

Mr Carter and I do have one thing in common; we are both former directors of ABA. In an online reply to that article I questioned Mr Carter regarding ABA’s NLIS policy because I know that the ABA did not have a policy on NLIS when I was a Director.

However seeing it is quite a long time since I was a director I am interested to ascertain if a policy had been formulated since my departure.

(Below is a photo taken from the air of my cattle station “Nutwood Downs” which is approx 400kms south of Katherine and 100kms North East of Daly Waters in the Northern Territory. We run approx 18,000 cattle on the station.)

It may interest some to know that when I was a director the ABA had no dedicated published Policy Document on any issue facing the grass roots of the Livestock Production Sector; moreover there was a strong underlying principal for the board to concentrate on strategies of political opinion and public ridicule, without proposing a viable alternative or indeed, an other appropriate defense against intrusive bureaucracy; that is the difference between a strategy and policy.

(Below is a picture of our station “work horse”. Because of the huge distances up here we use the Schweizer 300C Helicopter on a daily basis to muster cattle, check fences and stock waters and many other station activities.)

I did not dismiss Mr Carter’s speech; I simply say I have heard it before and that the strategy did not work here in Australia and question how it is possible to work in the USA, given that Mr Carter proposes no action only political rhetoric?

Mr Carter’s comment regarding the application of Law is an extraordinary one; one that puts the ABA at odds to their sister (?) organization in the USA, R-CALF.

By definition R-CALF, the group Mr Carter delivered his speech too; is the “Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund”; they have a clear policy which embraces Court Action and has been used very effectively to protect their Members interests when there is an impasse.

(The photo below is of our river, the Hodgson River in flood with the homestead in the distance. We are in the middle of our traditional Northern “wet season” and having our average yearly rainfall of 26 - 30 inches) (650- 750mm).

By implication, Mr Carter seems to be saying here that the policies that flow under that framework are wrong and “Just riding a Tiger”. I can just see it now, “ABA does not agree with sister organization R-CALF in the use of legal avenues to address Livestock owners concerns when battling illegal actions of governments and bureaucracy”. “ABA’s John Carter calls legal policy “just a ride on a Tiger with no dismounting strategy!!!!!!!!”

Additionally, Mr Carter’s speech omits the crucial piece of advice which should have been delivered to R-CALF, learnt from the Australian enforced regulatory application of NLIS; fight Premise Registration Implementation (PIC Codes).

(The season is a good one as you can see, last year was one of the worst in 20 years, there are Mitchell/ Flinders grass plains; the country is mostly lightly timbered and all the grass is natural pasture.)

One wonders why Mr Carter chose not to pass this on to the R-CALF Meeting; NLIS cannot exist without Premise Registration (PIC Codes).

An examination of history may give us the answer; when Mr Carter headed up the NSW Meat Authority, as a Regulator, in the times prior to ABA; he implemented a strategy from which emerged the National Vendor Declaration (NVD) system; NVD’s are Mr Carter’s brainchild; the concept of a PIC was a regulatory necessity, to achieve the NVD system. By implementing that strategy Mr Carter laid the foundations of both NLIS and LPA through Premise Registration (PIC).

The strategy employed by Mr Carter’s ABA has failed to empress a Liberal Government over the previous decade and seems unlikely to influence the new Labor Government.

(The yards are called the Starkvale Yards and they are one of 3 sets, all steel, that can accommodate about 1500 - 2000 each comfortably. We run Brahman cross cattle approx. 18,000 head and the annual production predominantly go live export.)

The question for the ABA now is relevance; how can they achieve and address the removal of over regulation in the Livestock Production Sector, something that they have failed utterly to do thus far, without a major overhaul in their mode of operation; at the same time justifying the annual expenditure of members fund’s, to their membership?

I think Mr Carter’s perception of the ABA as a permanent opposition group to the mainstream, using only political strategies, that are permanently opposing, whilst at the same time riding and flogging a dead horse is misconceived; the trick for him will be at what point he will he dismount the dead horse, not to mention the danger of riding and flogging a dead horse in the first instance.

Have your say! To enter into an online discussion with NT Cattleman Rod Dunbar or leave your thoughts click on the Blue word Comments below.

Victorian, Cattle Producer, Feedlotter, Horse Breeder Jenny Bird writes.

Our operation is relatively small..we trade about 4000 steers into feedlots. So we buy in, grow out and send. Wodonga Sale yards on the Victorian / NSW Border (pictured below) is where we source most of our cattle.

Regular sales are Tuesday fat market plus store sale, special sales are held on other days of the week. These special sales require cattle to be yarded the day before and the sales start at 10:30 am. We have arrangements to get cattle out of the pens to dirt yards quickly and then home to paddocks 10 and 15 and 25 k away as the cement footing and radiant heat cook the feet of cattle and cause no end of veterinary work for us.

This is our main processing set of yards on the Bungowannah property under construction. The roof is going on over the yards ($22,000 alone) with lights so we can process cattle when they come in at midnight and get them out into paddocks asap to avoid health issues from standing round on concrete at sale yards and hours of trucking.

Best invention ever a roof over the working area. The power hose is essential to keep the area clean as the cattle are very loose in spring. The heat of the day in open yards in summer is intolerable so we start at dawn and try to knock off by midday……not that it ever works that way!!!!

In the feed on steer job you need to process cattle when they want them so good yards and facilities have become essential….but all are expensive.

The scanning equipment and recording gear we can take to other yards and use portable scales. Above is the sort of crush set up we have in all yards……this one hasn’t got the head grab on it yet. You can’t read buttons manually with out one! All scales need to be programed to the recording box…..if not they can give a false reading of up to 4 kg per 100 kg…..very critical when you are targeting a grid system of price for different feedlots.

We invested in $20,000 worth of crushes and scanner/recording equipment to ease the back pain of having to manually read all cattle on purchased and out the gate so we could check NLIS status of them on the data base to avoid ‘discounts’ at the feedlot entry point.

Above is Bill Weidner, who has been in the cattle business for many years, with some bullocks ready to go to Queensland at the Bonegilla property. Bill and I run his brother’s Estate. AJ Weidner was a very well known commission buyer for 60 odd years. Since Bill had a horse flip on him and break his leg, followed by a horse flinging him into a float and breaking a hip he does very little on a horse now…..but he has a buster off the Ag bike on a regular basis….the brakes on a horse were pretty reliable! At 79 he doesn’t repair as well as he used to!

Manually reading tags is essential on purchase entry as it identifies those cattle who don’t scan; don’t carry buttons at all on arrival; don’t carry a button that matches the NVD; aren’t in fact what they were sold as ie Vendor Bred but second hand, or Vendor Bred but the NVD relates to a different property so they come up on the data base as NOT LIFE TIME TRACEABLE.

The other issue is that when the data is entered on the keyboard, fields don’t hold that data and hours of filling in ‘gaps’ is done off the long hand recording we still have to do.

Nothing beats the written format….except when the dog pi**es on the sheets and you have used a texta pen!!!

“In my spare time I stand 4 Morgan stallions …live service and chilled shipment and breed Pure and Part bred Morgan horses. This mare I originally sold to NZ as a filly but then repurchased when the opportunity arose. I have sold several horses to NZ and every State and Territory in Australia. I have just sold a yearling filly to England….a first.

So when we have a problem on intake we ring the agent and request the correct NVD applicable to the cattle and a roll back of the data entry is done to make the cattle Life Time traceable. Otherwise, we deduct $100 off every incorrect beast purchased.

It is amazing how agents don’t put up a fight!!! It is easier to wear the discount than fix the problem for most……..as they are not computer literate themselves or it occurs so often they would have no time to address their own bottom line profit sheet if they had to fix every “problem” beast!!!

At the price of feed on steers we can’t afford to run 20% non lifetime traceable cattle to punt back into the domestic market!!!…..where Life time traceability doesn’t matter.

Marvelous Encore (pictured) is a Morgan stallion I imported from Arizona in 1994. He arrived mid winter - July 4th in a summer coat but he soon learnt to grow a winter coat.

The filly I sent to England in January went out in 40 degree heat and arrived in -8 with wind chill factor and it snowed the next day. She is growing a winter coat now as she tears off her rugs. It takes horses over 12 months to adjust to the climate change.

I have imported many horses from America, NZ and England as well as frozen semen. The drought and EI has minimised my program but I still have about 25 horses…..but don’t tell Bill!!!”

If only purchasers and breeders and stock owners of cattle would check their data base to see the mess they have on it. Most would recognize that the numbers they are supposed to have in the paddock according to the data base has no relationship to the data they have submitted to the Tax man!!!

Wouldn’t the Tax Office have a field day if they had a look at the data base of most cockies!!!!???? If you aren’t computer literate then ask your Agent to down load a copy of all the cattle you have recorded on your data base. You will be in for a BIG surprise!!! Remember the new buttons in the shed as yet unused are on there too…before you have a heart attack!!!

I headed up a syndicate to import frozen semen from a Palomino Morgan stallion and market that semen as well. Below is a photo of Palomino M0rgan Stallion - PT Cruiser.

Have your say! To ask Jenny a question online or leave a comment click on the Blue word Comment below.