From the CEO Welcome to the first issue of The Link! We’re very excited to bring you our brand new publication! At AHA we’re lucky enough to see firsthand the effort and passion that goes into Australia’s agriculture industry – now with the launch of The Link you can find out about all the amazing work too! Twice a year in The Link we’ll feature stories from producers, vets and others who work in the agriculture industry and share what AHA is working on to strengthen the animal health system. We’ll showcase the achievements of our members, partners and stakeholders and bring you the latest Australian agricultural news and innovations. We hope that by sharing these stories we can help Australian farmers get the best possible outcomes on-farm. We recently returned from Beef Australia 2018 in Rockhampton, Queensland and the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Conference in Brisbane and have had a fantastic time meeting and engaging with a variety of producers and veterinarians (p4). You’ll find out more about our Beef Australia and AVA Conference adventures in the next issue. One of the most important topics to our members and stakeholders is on-farm biosecurity. With several big changes taking place over the past year we thought it would be fitting to make on-farm biosecurity the theme of this inaugural issue; and with the announcement of an additional $121.6 million in the 2018-19 Federal Budget to enhance Australia’s biosecurity system over the next five years, we’ll be watching this space very closely. One of the most significant changes in the area of biosecurity were the adjustments to the management of Johne’s disease that took place throughout 2016 and 2017. Our feature article (p11) provides a summary of the key elements that changed, shares the thoughts of some of the key individuals involved in the decisionmaking and implementation process and outlines what AHA and other groups have learnt from the experience. Don’t forget, if there’s something you’re passionate about that you’d like to submit a piece on, or if you would like to advertise your program or product, get in touch with us at publications@ animalhealthaustralia.com.au. Keep in mind, the theme for our In this edition Meet the new president of the World Organisation of Animal Health - Australia’s very own Dr Mark Schipp. Congratulations Mark on this incredible achievement! Find out all the latest Farm Biosecurity Project news. Kylie Stretton, Cattle Council of Australia’s 2017 Rising Champion, shares her story. 6 26 30 next issue is ‘Emergency Animal Disease: are we prepared?’ I hope you enjoy reading The Link just as much as we have enjoyed putting it together for you. Kathleen Plowman AHA CEO (L-R): AHA Chairman Peter Milne, with AHA CEO Kathleen Plowman at Beef Australia 2018 THE LINK AUT/WIN 18 3
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