Timing Trained Staff Planning for Arrival

10 Beef Breeder MANUAL be made that beneit both animal and human health, safety, and welfare. With these conditions in mind, importers need to plan carefully and begin preparations in the 12 months prior to receiving Australian beef cattle so that suicient time is available to develop the required infrastructure, feed resources, and animal handling skills to safely receive cattle. The following section describes the planning that needs to take place in the period before cattle arrive, and in the immediate period after arrival.

1.2. Planning for Arrival

1.2.1. Timing

The timing of arrival of cattle in countries with extremely cold winter climates is crucial. The optimum time to receive cattle from Australia is in spring and early summer, when pasture growth has commenced and temperatures are rising. If imported at this time of year, the cattle have ample time to recover from the travel under optimum local conditions, enabling them to continue to grow and mature prior to experiencing their irst cold winter. Cattle that arrive later in the year, in late autumn and winter for example, have little time to recover and adapt to often extremely cold local temperatures. Cattle imported during these periods must therefore receive a very high level of care and attention as they transition from the Australian springsummer. If cattle are imported in winter, it is recommended that they are housed indoors for the duration of the cold conditions, and particular care and attention must be paid to ensure that the cattle are fed suicient energy to maintain the higher maintenance energy requirement associated with cold weather. They should also not be Figure 1.1. Calves of dual purpose Russian Simmental breeds housed in a typical cow shed in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Source: International Agriculture for Development. 11 Cold Winter Climates exposed to sub-zero conditions without appropriate shelter.

1.2.2. Trained Staff

To ensure the greatest chances of success during the irst six months and beyond, it is essential that adequately trained staf are available and utilised to manage imported beef cattle. Skills required include: • Animal handling techniques, including safety of operations in conined spaces • Using cattle yards safely and eiciently • Husbandry operations including weighing animals, placing ear tags, treating for external and intestinal parasites, administering vaccinations, collecting blood samples, identifying and isolating sick animals for treatment, handling bulls, and managing bulls for mating • Managing nutrition and feeding cattle to reach target weights • Maintaining and repairing fences. Figure 1.2. Cattle arriving in spring and summer have more time to adapt to local conditions before winter, and allows more time to prepare the facilities required to manage the cattle during the cold winter conditions. Source: Bruce Creek, Kazakhstan. Figure 1.3. Cattle should arrive in the warmer months to avoid exposing cattle to cold conditions immediately after arriving, particularly if indoor facilities are not available. Source: Bruce Creek, Kazakhstan. 12 Beef Breeder MANUAL

1.2.3. Quarantine Facilities