"Starting Your Own Farm" Checklist
(If you want to own cattle, sheep or goats)
So you’ve decided you want to start a farm. What regulations and requirements do you need to know? Making sure you have the right tools and have followed the correct guidelines will help not only you and your farm but also your neighbours and the wider agriculture industry.
This guide is designed to help you meet the requirements for owning livestock.
Before buying animals…
Make sure you have:
- Registered for the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS)
- Property Identification Code (PIC)
- The correct facilities to feed, water and handle animals
- Checked your property's zoning
Other Documents You Need
Some People/Places You Should Get To Know
- Abattoirs and knackeries: these places slaughter livestock and process animal carcasses into meat and meat-related products.
- Saleyards: Primary producers and stock agents use saleyards to buy and sell livestock. Livestock can be sold based on weight or numbers.
- Stock and station agents: they act as brokers for primary producers and sell livestock via private sales, from farm to farm, private auctions, directly to abattoirs, or through saleyards.
- Vets
Animal Welfare Guidelines
The welfare of livestock is guided by the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines, which aims to harmonise and streamline livestock welfare legislation in Australia. It states that good animal husbandry principles is essential to meeting the welfare requirements of animals, meeting the basic physiological and behavioural needs.
This is why it’s important to stay on top of any potential illnesses or diseases that might affect your livestock, and spread to your neighbours. Pain relief is important for the welfare of animals and should be part of your husbandry considerations (see Pain Relief in Cattle).
Swill Feeding/Prohibited Pig Feed
Know your responsibilities. Don’t feed swill to pigs! Swill is food scraps that have come in contact with meat including leftover meals, bakery waste and used cooking oils. Feeding swill can make your pig sick and is illegal in Australia because it increases the chance of an exotic disease outbreak.