Summary of SCF projects 2018–2019
Swine Compensation Fund overview
Victoria's Swine Compensation Fund (SCF) is established under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994. The fund collects livestock duties paid on the sale of pigs or the carcasses of pigs under the Duties Act 2000.
The SCF receives approximately $0.16 for each pig or each carcass sold.
Money in the Fund may be invested in any manner in which money may be invested under the Trustee Act 1958 or any other manner that the appropriate Minister approves.
The Minister for Agriculture must not make a payment from the fund unless the Minister has considered any relevant recommendations from the Swine Industry Projects Advisory Committee (SIPAC).
Swine Industry Projects Advisory Committee Members
The SIPAC has been established to provide advice to the Minister for Agriculture on any proposed project for which payments should be made from the SCF and any other matter referred to it by the Minister.
Under Section 87 (3) of Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, the SIPAC comprises five members appointed by the Minister as follows:
- three are chosen from a panel submitted to the Minister by the Victorian Farmers Federation of the names of at least 5 people whom the Federation considers to represent the swine industry in Victoria;
- two are officers of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR).
Swine Industry Projects Advisory Committee membership at the time the 2018-19 project funding was awarded
Victorian Farmers Federation Representation:
- Mr John Bourke, VFF Pig Group
- Dr Patricia Mitchell, VFF Pig Group
- Mr Tim Kingma, VFF Pig Group
State Government Representation:
- Ms Beth Jones, Executive Director, Biosecurity and Agriculture Services (Chair) (until June 2019)
- Mr Michael Rosier, Acting Executive Director, Biosecurity Services (Chair) (from June 2019)
- Dr Rachael Holmes, Senior Officer, Animal Welfare, Agriculture Victoria
In 2018-19 the Swine Compensation Fund funded five projects.
Completed projects funded by the Swine Compensation Fund
All projects are administered by Agriculture Victoria. Any under expenditure is reallocated to the Swine Compensation Fund.
Anthrax vaccination of swine
The SCF approved $229.22 of an allocated $20,000 budget in the 2018-19 financial year to the Chief Veterinary Officers Unit to provide financial support to approved producers to assist them to vaccinate livestock during an anthrax response in a timely manner and undertake annual preventative anthrax vaccination (post outbreak). These measures reduce the likelihood of anthrax incidents through ongoing preventive vaccination of livestock on previously infected farms and in anthrax-prone areas.
Project budget: $20,000
Project expended: $229.22
Abattoir-based pig health monitoring
The SCF contributed $104,500 in the 2018-19 financial year to the Pig Services Centre to provide abattoir-based pig health monitoring services. These services provided support to producers and veterinarians in monitoring herd health and are central to the early detection and identification of production limiting diseases/problems.
Project budget: $104,500.
Project expended: $104,500.
Significant disease investigations (SDI)
The SCF contributed $3,801.82 of an allocated budget of $16,000 to provide a subsidy of $200 (plus GST) to livestock producers towards the cost of consulting a private veterinary practitioner for investigations approved under the SDI Program. It is important to obtain epidemiological data from significant disease events for Victoria’s animal health surveillance system.
The project also provides an incentive payment of $300 (plus GST) to private veterinary practitioners for investigating and reporting investigations of significant disease events that meet specific criteria, following approval by a DJPR Veterinary Officer.
Project budget: $16,000
Project expended: $3,081.82
Development of a live attenuated vaccine to aid in the control of Pasteurella infection in pigs
The SCF has contributed $6,900 of an allocated $72,700 budget in the 2018-19 financial year to the Pig Services Centre to commence development of an attenuated live vaccine for the control of PM, which is an important pathogen causing major socio-economic losses to the pig industry. The vaccine will be tested in pigs and is intended for vaccination of pigs at 2 weeks of age.
Project budget: $72,700
Project expended: $6,900
Development of a live autogenous vaccine for the control and elimination of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae from pig breeding stocks
The SCF contributed $31,042 of an allocated $95,000 budget in the 2018-19 financial year to the Pig Services Centre to develop a program for the control and elimination of MH, which is an important pathogen causing major socio-economic losses to the pig industry.
The program will target gilts by exposing them to MH autogenous culture (vaccine) between 8-10 weeks of age in order to ensure that they are not shedding MH at farrowing/lactations which is about 250 days after exposure.
Project budget: $95,000
Project expended: $31,042