OSPRI appoints new CEO
We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Chief Executive Officer, Sam McIvor.
Sam McIvor will be joining OSPRI in August 2024, stepping down from his role of the last eight years as CEO at Beef + Lamb New Zealand and New Zealand Meat Board.
OSPRI Board Chair, Dr Paul Reynolds says OSPRI is thrilled to welcome Sam McIvor. “Sam will bring extensive practical and strategic experience and a deep understanding of the agricultural sector to drive OSPRI forward and deliver value to our shareholders, stakeholders and the farming community.”
Sam’s role at OSPRI continues a life-long commitment to the agriculture sector. Originally from a hill country sheep and beef farm in the Manawatu, Sam’s career includes involvement with two livestock disease outbreaks and an acting role as General Manager of National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme and Farm Operations at OSPRI.
Sam says he is looking forward to joining OSPRI. “I am honoured to be appointed as the Chief Executive of OSPRI. I am passionate about the work OSPRI does to support New Zealand's primary industries, and I am committed to driving its mission forward with determination and innovation."
As Sam prepares to assume his new role, the OSPRI Board extends its sincerest gratitude to outgoing CEO, Steve Stuart for his exemplary leadership over the past five years.
Steve will step down on 31 May, and an Acting Chief Executive will be appointed to ensure a seamless transition through to August when Sam will begin his tenure.
Moving Day - Be a mate, update NAIT
Moving Day is just around the corner. This is the busiest time of year for livestock movements - in May last year there were 1,086,535 dairy cattle moved. This highlights how important it is to make sure your NAIT is up to date.
We recognise that this can be a stressful time, especially if you or your herd are on the move. That's why we're here to offer assistance and support, ensuring you're equipped to meet your NAIT obligations.
Making it easy to complete NAIT requirements for Moving Day
To simplify the process, we've broken down the essential information to make it as easy to understand as possible.
If you’re moving farm with your animals, you need to:
- Make sure you have tagged and registered all your animals and your NAIT account accurately reflects what is on the farm.
- Create a new NAIT location at the farm you’re moving to and register all grazing blocks you’re in charge of.
- Ensure third-party software suppliers/stock agents have this new number, and you have assigned them access to your NAIT account as information providers.
- Record and confirm all movements to new NAIT locations. You must complete this within 48 hours of the movement taking place.
- Deregister old NAIT location numbers once there are no animals registered to them.
If you’re moving farm but the herd is staying where it is, you need to:
- Contact OSPRI to let us know you’re no longer the person in charge (PICA) at that address.
- Ensure you register as the new PICA within 48 hours of arriving at the new farm.
If you’re no longer a PICA, you don’t have to be registered in NAIT. You can deregister your PICA account by following these steps:
- Select 'My Details' on the top right section of NAIT.
- Select 'Deactivate' and follow the prompts.
If you become a PICA again, you will need to register in NAIT again, by going to the NAIT website and creating an account. Our Support Centre can reinstate an account that was mistakenly deregistered if required.
Resources
If you need some help figuring out what steps you need to take, follow our decision-making tree.
You can also print out the checklist to keep in the shed or with your books, you can mark it off as you complete each step.
For more information and support this Moving Day, check out the page below.
Regional support sessions a hit with farmers
Farmers are taking the opportunity to brush up on NAIT and TBfree knowledge with standout attendance at the most recent round of OSPRI support sessions. Over 250 farmers attended sessions across the country between January and April, taking place at local venues including community halls and farm supply stores.
The support sessions are organised by local OSPRI regional partners and offer a range of services, from assistance with tidying up NAIT movements to discussing best tagging practices and creating new herd numbers. Most of these are one-on-one sessions, where farmers can get specialised help on topics most relevant to them.
While regional partners cover a wide amount of content during a session, there were several topics that attendees were especially interested in. These included meeting obligations when moving between farms, NAIT account reconciliations and developing on-farm traceability plans.
With Moving Day right around the corner, these topics indicate a growing number of farmers being aware of and wanting to meet their NAIT and TBfree obligations.
“It’s encouraging to see so many farmers attending these events,” says OSPRI regional partner Danielle Holland. “Farmers are taking an active interest in traceability and the questions we receive during these events show a willingness to do the right thing”.
The increased interest is reflected by a steady rise in NAIT compliance rates. Between January and April, overall NAIT compliance increased by almost 6% in 2024 compared to 2023.
OSPRI regularly hosts support sessions across the country and online at a variety of different dates and times. To see what’s happening soon in your area, visit the OSPRI Upcoming Events page.
Do you believe on-farm biosecurity is vital? Then join an OSPRI committee!
