Three farm record-keeping tips
- Keeping good farm records has many benefits for your business, including ensuring you can remain LPA-accredited and access LPA NVDs
- A diary or record book, farm management software or the LPA record keeping templates are all effective tools for recording relevant management activities on-farm
Keeping good farm records helps certify the safety, traceability and integrity of your red meat products, so you can stand by what you sell.
Producers are expected to keep good records to demonstrate compliance with Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) requirements and maintain their LPA-accredited status when audited.
Keeping good records is also vital in the event of a biosecurity or animal disease incident, and ensures producers have the necessary information on hand to correctly complete LPA National Vendor Declarations (NVDs). When you tick the box on the LPA NVD, you are guaranteeing your on-farm practices meet LPA requirements, and ultimately customer expectations – so your tick must be backed up by accurate farm records.
Keeping records can also assist in applications for grants or other financial assistance for your business.
There is no perfect formula or method to record keeping. Whether you use farm management software to keep track of your activities or prefer to keep hard copy farm records, it is important that all relevant management activities are accurately and clearly recorded.
Need to get your books in order? Here’s three tips other producers are using to keep their records in shape with minimal fuss.
1. Record animal treatments in one dedicated location
“I use one sheep record book to keep all my records,” sheep producer Peter Davis, from Brewarrina, NSW, said.
“For example, we normally drench our sheep in October or November for barber’s pole worm and I always record details about those treatments in my record book.”
2. Consider using a farm management software app to record activities
“There are software and apps out there to help manage and record data which are ideal,” beef and sheep producer Edward Hunter, from Peak Hill, NSW, said.
“I think education and awareness around using these apps needs to be more frequent as it really helps (with record keeping).”
3. Use ISC’s record keeping templates to keep track of your activities
Wagga Wagga-based producer and Strategic Operations – Livestock for Teys Australia, Kitty Sheridan, said producers should take advantage of existing online resources for farm record keeping.
Kitty recommended using the LPA farm record keeping templates to record all farm management activities, as the templates include all details that need to be recorded.
Alternately, Kitty said keeping a farm diary can be an equally effective method for recording all necessary farm records.
“Most farmers I know keep a farm diary or at least write everything they do on-farm in a pocket notebook, so that’s a good basis for establishing the necessary record-keeping,” Kitty said.
For more information on record keeping requirements – including the digital record keeping options now available to producers – visit the ISC website.
Are you a whizz at record keeping? Have you implemented some time-saving systems to help keep track of your livestock and farm records that make auditing a simple process? If you’ve got some great ideas you’d like to share with other producers, email our communications team.
The best ideas come from other producers, so help us share that knowledge to ensure we can all stand by what we sell.