Picture this: you have a house on a few acres, and from your verandah you can overlook your paddock where you have two steers, a horse and a few sheep, all happily grazing your grass. What more could you possibly need, right?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Well, there may be one thing you haven't considered, and it's a vital part of Australia's effort to have healthy and disease-free livestock. It's also a legal requirement for any land where livestock live.
It's a Property Identification Code. It doesn't matter how much land you have - if you have stock, your land must be identified by a PIC. This includes cattle, goats, horses, sheep, alpacas and more than 100 poultry.
PICs help agencies such as Local Land Services and NSW Department of Primary Industries know where the animals have come from, and this is vital in the case of a disease outbreak or natural disaster.
Being able to trace animals quickly improves the chance of controlling a disease outbreak. It allows us to find at-risk animals and then stop them moving and potentially continuing to spread the disease.
Getting a PIC for your property is straightforward - there is an application form you can download from the Local Land Services website.
Living on a few acres like this is becoming increasingly common, and there are resources available to help you if you're new to the game.
The blue book 'Building Biosecurity for Small Farms', has background information on the importance of biosecurity, as well as practical information, useful contacts and case studies of other small landholders.
You can also connect with other smallholders online on the NSW Hobby Farmers Community Facebook page. This page, run by NSW DPI, provides important biosecurity information as well as a chance for hobby farmers to connect with each other and biosecurity experts.
More information on PICs including the application form, can be found on our website www.lls.nsw.gov.au/livestock/pics.
