For livestock operations, the records that count go well beyond a tax return.
The new financial year is a natural checkpoint for all businesses however for livestock operations the records that count go well beyond a tax return.
Compliance with the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) and Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program depends on what's been logged on your property throughout the year, not just what's been calculated for the accountant.
What records do NLIS require and for how long?
All livestock movements must be recorded in the NLIS database for full lifetime traceability, covering transfers, Property Identification Codes (PICs), and device details.
National Vendor Declarations (NVDs) for every livestock movement onto your property need to be kept on file, since these records get checked as part of LPA auditing. Integrity Systems Company recommends holding onto those records for as long as the animals remain on your property, and for a minimum of seven years after they're sold.
What is a PIC reconciliation?
A PIC reconciliation is a property stock take against the NLIS database, comparing the physical tags on the ground against what's registered.
Most producers should run one every year or two as a risk management check. Doing that well depends on the same daily habit as everything else: logging livestock numbers, movements and treatments as they happen, rather than trying to reconstruct a year's worth of activity in one sitting.
How does a farm management platform help with LPA and NLIS compliance?
Whllst farm management software like FARMap doesn't replace the NLIS database, handle PIC reconciliations or act as a substitute for lodging NLIS transfers; what apps like FARMap do very well is hold the paddock-level detail that sits behind those systems: treatment records, chemical inventory, livestock numbers and paddock rotation, logged as the season unfolds and exportable as audit-ready reports.
When an LPA audit comes up; or a saleyard asks for movement history or your accountant wants a number, the supporting detail is already there and already accurate.
Why does this matter more for farms with multiple properties?
Each property carries its own PIC, its own paddock layout and often its own compliance obligations depending on the state. FARMap keeps treatment history, rainfall and stocking records
separated by property, but accessible from one login, so nothing gets mixed up when it's time to pull records for the whole operation or hand them over for an audit. The new financial year is a good prompt to check the gaps in reporting.
Because FARMap makes accurate day to day recording simple, reports are always ready when they're needed, for an LPA audit, an NLIS query, or the new financial year.
FAQ
How long do I need to keep NLIS records?
At least seven years after the animal is sold, or for as long as it remains on your property.
What is a PIC?
A Property Identification Code, the eight-character code that identifies a livestock-producing property under NLIS and LPA.
What is a PIC reconciliation?
A comparison between the physical NLIS devices on a property and what's registered against that property on the NLIS database, similar to a stocktake.
What records does an LPA audit check?
National Vendor Declarations, NLIS transfers, and on-farm treatment and biosecurity records.
Does FARMap manage NLIS transfers?
No. FARMap holds the on-farm records, treatments, chemical use, livestock numbers and paddock detail, that support an NLIS or LPA audit. NLIS transfers themselves are lodged through the NLIS database.
Sources
Integrity Systems Company, A guide to record keeping: https://www.integritysystems.com.au/about/news--events/a-guide-to-record-keeping/
Why Farm Management Software Pays Off at Financial Year https://www.mla.com.au/meat-safety-and-traceability/red-meat-integrity-system/
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, NLIS Database Uplift Project: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/market-access-trade/national-traceability/nlis-database-uplift-project