Getting Ready For Your Bord Bia Audit

Ciaran Beatty, Teagasc Drystock Advisor, shares his top tips when preparing for your Bord Bia audit.

Here are some points to help you in preparation for this visit and steps to take to pass;

• The Bovine Register Herd book has to be available and all births, deaths and movements up to date. All movement permits and Knackery receipts must be available to be viewed by the Auditor on request. Most farmers also keep their recent Cattle Purchases / Sales dockets from Marts and factory’s etc. close at hand. Remember to have all your Cattle cards available on the day as well.
• The Animal Remedy Purchase and Usage records must be completed and up to date. According to Bord Bia, the majority of problems uncovered during an audit leading to failure relate to record keeping on animal remedies and medicines. It is advisable that farmers have a full record of all remedy / medical purchases and usages prior to inspection. Information recorded must include date of purchase, medicine name, quantity purchased and name and address of supplier. The farmer then needs to record date of administration, name of medicine, quantity given, identification of animal, date and end of withdrawal period, name of person giving the dose or name of prescribing vet. Bord Bia also provide a farm book to complete in relation to the Animal Health Plan where the dosing/ vaccination programme is outlined.
• The Farm Safety Risk Assessment book also has to be completed and available for inspection. This includes important information outlining what steps are taken to maximise safety on the farm and needs to be updated each year.
• A Pesticide usage record will also be required if any spraying or weed licking took place on the farm. Information such as product name, PCS number, crop treated, area treated, volume of water used and date applied along with professional usage number is necessary. Ensure any contractor employed is fully qualified to do the work.
• A sustainability survey must also be completed before arrival of Auditor on farm. This can be completed on-line on the computer with a password supplied by Bord Bia on their website.
• Don’t forget to have your Farm Safety signs visible and displayed on farm, bait points for rodents mapped out, footbaths topped up with disinfectant and a functional medicine cabinet which can be locked as well as a first aid kit present on the holding.

The Inspection itself normally last approximately 2 hours, remember to have read your most recent letter from Bord Bia which will have noted a few specific areas for improvement on your farm following the last inspection.

You can check your own individual status and cert expiry date by going to the Bord Bia website and imputing “Check Producer Status” and putting in your own herd number.

There is a substantial amount of paperwork to complete and it is advisable not to leave it all to the day before the visit!

Teagasc provides a Local Advisory and Education service to farmers. Find your local office.