Australian Country Choice

Category one – Best solution to an identified work health and safety issue

Australian Country Choice developed and implemented a platform system to separate humans and livestock in the cattle yard.

Previously stock handlers would be in the yards to move cattle between pens. This was labour-intensive and put them at risk of musculoskeletal and body stress injuries, as well as being struck by animals.

The new system involves:

• constructing walkways around the exterior of cattle yards
• engineering gates that are operated from the walkways by extended levers
• creating arcs and curved yards that allow animals a natural and smooth traffic flow.

Australian Country Choice has incorporated the system into five yards and plans to continue the rollout across all commercial cattle production properties. There have been no cattle handling injuries since the system was implemented.

Stock worker demonstrating gate control