Wool body opposes LPA proposed changes

WoolProducers Australia CEO Jo Hall said the body's health and welfare committee recently considered proposed changes to the LPA scheme, proposed by the Integrity Systems Company.

"The proposed changes included frequency of accreditation cycles with a transition to a two-year accreditation cycle which is an increase from the current three-year cycle, a self-assessment accreditation rather than quiz based and an increase in costs associated with the LPA program," she said.

"The changes are targeted to deliver sustainable funding for the LPA program, but were not supported by the committee as it was agreed that more information was needed for the justification of these proposed changes, which was consistent with the response from the Supply Chain Taskforce.

"ISC have noted feedback received from the Supply Chain Taskforce and will consider this in refining the current proposal."

But ISC is keeping tight lipped about what kinds of changes might be in the pipeline.

"The Livestock Production Assurance program is crucial for ensuring Australian red meat continues to meet the needs of global and domestic markets," a spokesman said.

"The program covers seven key requirements across food safety, biosecurity, and animal welfare that producers need to satisfy to become accredited.

"Given the importance of the program for market access and the future of our industry, it is necessary for the program to be reviewed periodically by industry.

"At this stage there are no specific changes in place for the LPA program although there is a change planned in the coming months with the release of a new self-assessment tool.

"This new tool will replace the current accreditation questionnaire and will provide producers with greater opportunities to identify how on-farm risks relate specifically to their business.

"Each producer will also receive a tailored Recommendations Report at the end of the accreditation process to provide further learning opportunities.

Any changes relating to the administration of the LPA program, including accreditation cost or timetable, will be communicated by Integrity Systems Company as they come to hand.

Meanwhile, a new sustainability module leveraging existing tools and systems is also being developed, but will not be a mandatory part of the program.