Market programs

Livestock producers can access various market programs as part of their marketing and selling strategy.

These programs may be obligatory, voluntary or market specific and can be regionally-based or larger-scale such as:

Livestock Production Assurance

Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) is a program that underpins the National Vendor Declaration and Waybill (LPA NVD/Waybill) which upholds Australia's reputation as a world leader in meat and livestock food safety.

LPA is a simple on-farm food safety program which enables producers to back up claims made on the LPA NVD/Waybills. When producers sign a LPA NVD/Waybill, they are signing compliance with LPA and hence must be accredited.

National Livestock Identification System

The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) is Australia's system for livestock identification, traceability and biosecurity. It is a permanent whole-of-life system that allows individual animals to be identified electronically and tracked from property of birth to slaughter. NLIS ultimately protects food safety, product integrity, Australia's red meat reputation and market access globally. NLIS is compulsory for all cattle, sheep and goats.

Meat Standards Australia

Meat Standards Australia (MSA) is an eating quality program that labels beef, lamb and sheepmeat with a guaranteed grade and recommended cooking method to identify eating quality according to consumer perceptions.

Once registered with MSA, producers must meet a number of on-farm, handling, transportation and sale requirements to protect the quality of the meat produced. Livestock producers, regardless of whether they are registered, are encouraged to implement as many MSA recommended practices as possible to ensure the best quality red meat product is sent to market.

National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme

The National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) is the quality assurance scheme for Australian feedlots and is mandatory for feedlots producing grainfed beef for export markets. The responsibility of the NFAS lies with lot feeders and aims to positively impact product quality and acceptability.

European Union Cattle Accreditation Scheme

The European Union Cattle Accreditation Scheme (EUCAS) is a national animal production system for supply of cattle to the European Union which enables the traceability of all cattle within the scheme through the use of NLIS. EUCAS aims to meet the increasingly stringent demands for food safety via product traceability and, in doing so, ensure continued access to the European market.