Livestock Biosecurity Funds — Grant Program

Successful funding applicants and projects for the 2020 Grant Program
Following the 2020 funding round for the Livestock Biosecurity Funds - Grant Program, Victoria’s livestock industries are set to benefit from $9.5 million in grants to bolster the state’s biosecurity.
Applicant | Project title | Objective |
---|---|---|
Victorian Farmers Federation | VFF Producer-Led Cattle Biosecurity Extension Program | The aim of the project is to improve on-farm biosecurity and animal health in Victoria. |
Livestock Saleyards Association of Victoria | Managing Transit Stock in Saleyards (specific to cattle) | The aim of the project is to combine a range of current saleyard technologies to allow transit stock movements to be automatically electronically collected along with additional relevant information. |
La Trobe University | Identification of nematode-susceptible cattle | The aim of the project is to develop a diagnostic index to identify cattle that are relatively resistant to nematode infection by using the index to determine if ‘new’ Hereford strains, influenced by American germlines, are more susceptible to nematode infection. |
CSIRO Health and Biosecurity | Novel diagnostics for animal diseases | The aim of the project is to enhance Victoria and Australia’s ability for early detection and characterisation of exotic and endemic viral diseases of livestock. |
Agrinous | eNVD Uptake - Whole Supply Chain (specific to cattle) | The aim of the project is to deliver an electronic national vendor declaration (eNVD) compatible software solution for Stock Agents and Saleyards. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) (Cattle) tag subsidy | The NLIS (Cattle) system helps maintain the disease-free status of Victoria’s beef and dairy herds and protects Victoria’s reputation in domestic and export markets as a supplier of wholesome meat and dairy products. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Victorian Cattle Significant Disease Investigation (SDI) Program | The aim of the project is to improve both the quality and number of investigations conducted by private veterinarians in Victoria, thus enhancing capacity for the early detection and control of diseases of livestock that could impact on human health, animal health, farm productivity and market access and trade. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Control and prevention of anthrax for cattle | Vaccination is the most effective method of controlling an anthrax outbreak and for ensuring ongoing anthrax prevention on affected properties |
Agriculture Victoria Research | Metagenomic enhancements of abortion diagnostics | The aim of the project is to apply High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) to a repository of abortion samples collected in Victoria to identify associated pathogens. Adoption of HTS will enhance the existing diagnostics capabilities to identify causes of abortion and stillbirth in cattle and manage disease in industry. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Animal Disease Investigation Course (specific to cattle industry) | The aim of the project is to maintain and increase awareness of, and surveillance for, suspect Emergency Animal Diseases (EADs) resulting in greater number and quality of submissions. These submissions provide evidence of absence for EADs that Victoria (and Australia) claim freedom from, which allows increased trade opportunities for our livestock products. |
Victorian Farmers Federation | VFF Sheep and Goat Producer-Led Biosecurity Extension Program | The aim of the project is to improve on-farm biosecurity and animal health in Victoria. |
La Trobe University | Point of Care (POC) Testing For Worm Control | The aim of the project is to produce a paper-based microfluidic POC test to identify worm-resistant sheep. |
Agrinous | eNVD Uptake - Whole Supply Chain (specific for sheep and goat industry) | The aim of the project is to deliver an electronic national vendor declaration (eNVD) compatible software solution for Stock Agents and Saleyards. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | National Livestock Identification System (NLIS)(Sheep and Goat) tag subsidy | The NLIS (Sheep and Goat) system helps maintain the disease-free status of Victoria’s sheep and goat industries and protects Victoria’s reputation in domestic and export markets as a supplier of wholesome meat products. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Control and prevention of anthrax for sheep and goats | Vaccination is the most effective method of controlling an anthrax outbreak and for ensuring ongoing anthrax prevention on affected properties. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Victorian Sheep and Goat Significant Disease Investigation (SDI) Program | The aim of the project is to improve both the quality and number of investigations conducted by private veterinarians in Victoria, thus enhancing capacity for the early detection and control of diseases of livestock that could impact on human health, animal health, farm productivity and market access and trade. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Animal Disease Investigation Course (specific to sheep and goat industry) | The aim of the project is to maintain and increase awareness of, and surveillance for, suspect Emergency Animal Diseases (EADs) resulting in greater number and quality of submissions. These submissions provide evidence of absence for EADs that Victoria (and Australia) claim freedom from, which allows increased trade opportunities for our livestock products. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | SheepNotes | The distribution of SheepNotes assists in retaining the confidence and goodwill of the wider sheep industry, audience by increasing Agriculture Victoria’s ability to communicate quickly when biosecurity, health, welfare and production issues demand |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Abattoir Based Pig Health Surveillance in Victoria for Swine | The aim of the project is to focus on disease surveillance on the chain which will evaluate the value of data from all pigs processed, in initiating disease investigations and as a general surveillance tool for pig health. The project will demonstrate value in collecting data on deaths to identify problems in the industry that can be rectified and reducing these losses will directly benefit producers who lose money on every death. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Victorian Swine Significant Disease Investigation (SDI) Program | The aim of the project is to improve both the quality and number of investigations conducted by private veterinarians in Victoria, thus enhancing capacity for the early detection and control of diseases of livestock that could impact on human health, animal health, farm productivity and market access and trade. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Animal Disease Investigation Course (specific to Swine) | The aim of the project is to maintain and increase awareness of, and surveillance for, suspect Emergency Animal Diseases (EADs) resulting in greater number and quality of submissions. These submissions provide evidence of absence for EADs that Victoria (and Australia) claim freedom from which allows increased trade opportunities for our livestock products. |
HiveKeepers | Smart Sentinel Beehives Pilot Program | Having smart sentinel beehives at seaports will provide 24/7 surveillance and will support refinement of this critical, cost-effective technology. |
Victorian Apiarists' Association | Commercial and recreational beekeepers conference | The aim of the project supports the engagement of a keynote speaker to present at the 2021 Victorian Apiarists’ Association Annual Conference. The presentation will address issues such as the threat of varroa entering Australia and its potential to devastate the pollination industry. |
Victorian Recreational Beekeepers Association Inc | Honey Bee Flexible Learning Bio security Project | The aim of the project is to engage an international expert in biosecurity, honey bee health and nutrition to present latest research findings at the 2021 Victorian Recreational Beekeepers Association Annual Conference. |
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions | Smart surveillance for bee diseases | Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostics for routine smart surveillance of beehives can assist in early detection of high-risk exotic and endemic bee pests to prevent their further distribution and maintain honeybee health. |
Guidelines
Applicants are encouraged to read the grant guidelines prior to commencing an application.
Previously successful grant applicants
The project summaries report on actual expenditure as well as allocated, the project summaries are uploaded to the Agriculture Victoria website when this information is available. Receipt of this information can occur at different times between June and December.
View details of applicants that have previously been awarded grants.