Today is the final day that older versions of National Vendor Declaration (NVD) forms will be accepted.

From tomorrow all movements of LPA (Livestock Production Assurance)-accredited livestock must be backed by the current version of the NVD form.

The current version is labelled 0413  and has been available since December 2013.

The current LPA NVD for bobby calves is version 0412 and was released in 2012.

SAFEMEAT announced earlier this year that all older versions of the NVD forms would be phased out to meet domestic and importing country requirements.

NVDs are declarations signed by livestock vendors to provide assurances to Australia’s domestic and international customers that the meat and meat products they buy are safe and residue free.

Many processors made the decision to only accept the latest LPA NVD version over 12 months ago, to meet their customers’ and exporting country’s expectations.

In September SAFEMEAT chair Ross Keane said almost 70pc of producers were already using the current version of the LPA NVD.

He told Beef Central he expects the current transition to be relatively seamless. Agents, saleyards and processors have reported seeing fewer older NVDs being used in recent months.

There have been eight versions of the LPA NVD issued since the LPA program began in 2004, with modifications made as market requirements changed.

The latest LPA NVD removes the need for producers to state ‘Saudi eligible’ or ‘Russia eligible’. Removing all previous editions ensures all requirements of international trading partners have been addressed.

All red meat producers were sent a letter earlier this year outlining the changes and providing information on how to purchase a book of the current LPA NVDs if they are not using them.

Producers can order a new hard-copy LPA NVD booklet online, or purchase electronic NVDs, at http://lpa.ausmeat.com.au/ Producers who are using the current version of the LPA NVD (0413) do not need to do anything.