The year was one of unprecedented events which all impacted on our exporting processors.

An Australian dollar that over the year averaged 103 US cents, abnormal natural disasters in Japan and throughout much of south east Asia, financial wobbles in the United States and most of Europe all contributed to a difficult year for the Australian processing industry.

However, despite all of these hurdles the export of beef, lamb and mutton during 2011 all increased due to the world’s insatiable demand for red meat.

Demand in 2012 looks to remain strong with the best news being the way our non-traditional markets across the world are continuing to grow and require our protein.

The push in 2012 will intensify for increased attention to be paid to the chain of reasonability regarding the handling and movement of all livestock.

Huge fines may be applicable to any producer who loads livestock which are lame, blind, or diseased or considered, in all fairness, to be too poor or weak to travel.

Penalties will also apply to producers who do not allow sufficient time for livestock off feed and water to empty out.

Inspectors will no doubt at some stage will have a blitz on highway contamination caused by escaping animal waste caused by an overflowing situation within the body of the truck.

This chain of responsibility will also relate to carriers both owner and driver, who in future will have to pay more attention to what and how they load livestock.

Responsibility may also be sheeted home to agents, their staff and also receival staff at major sale yards who also may be caught up in what is fast developing into a major animal welfare issue.

Finally on this issue, livestock buyers and road mangers for major stock haulage contractors will all be swept up into the net in the advent of a major investigation, if and when things do go wrong.