Running on empty: is Queensland currently facing a bull scanner shortage?

Producers are worried Queensland's stud cattle industry risks being left underserviced, with growing concerns over the scarcity of accredited bull scanners.

There are believed to be just a handful of full-time qualified experts in the country who can conduct important scans for sales and Breedplan data, including eye muscle and fat depths.

It prompted Brangus breeder Rodney Johannsen, Brooweena, to speak up at the recent Australian Brangus Cattle Association AGM about the need to ease the pressure on a small group of accredited bull scanners.

"If we lose one or two scanners, it would leave a huge hole for sales and seedstock producers," Mr Johannsen said.

He said younger people were discouraged from entering the field because of the costs and complexity of accreditation.

"Training needs to be more accessible so the right young people can step in," he said.

"I believe government support for training is necessary to make it viable."

Prominent Queensland scanner, David Reid, Haly Creek, said he had seen the demands of the job first-hand across more than 30 years of scanning, but felt it had not increased in recent times.

"The biggest problem for someone getting into the business is the affordability of the machine and the lifestyle to go with it," Mr Reid said.

He said scanning required flexibility from families and employers, with work swinging from weeks on the road to stretches of quieter time.

"You needed a versatile setup and an understanding boss because some weeks you are away seven days and other weeks you are home the whole time," he said.

For himself, he spends a minimum of three months on the road during bull sale season, travelling across the state to reach clients.

One of the biggest time pressures was travelling to individual vendors with only a few bulls each.

"If all bulls were scanned at the yards before a multi-vendor sale, it would make the process easier and faster for both of us," he said.

Whilst the Rockhampton Brangus Sale and National Braford Sale had already moved to this method, the Droughtmaster National Sale and Brahman Week Sale remained the alternative inconvenience.

He said family-run operations were often the only ones that could support a scanner's unpredictable schedule.

"It works best for people who are on family places, because parents can be more understanding when you have to come and go around the scanning schedule," he said.

Mr Reid said succession was already a focus for himself and Lonnie Stone, a Purlewaugh, NSW, scanner who often travelled north.

"We talk every day during the season to make sure Lonnie and I aren't crossing over and can cover as much as possible between us," he said.

He said he had no plans to walk away and would only step back when the right people were ready to take his place.

"We're not just going to hang up the tools - we want the right people for the job and we're committed to training them when they come along," he said.

Veteran New South Wales scanner Roger Evans, Tamworth, said the problem was not limited to Queensland.

"There are only seven of us in Australia who do it full time," Mr Evans said.

"When one scanner went down this year, it turned into a mad rush to get cattle scanned."

He said trust was at the centre of every producer-scanner relationship, and accuracy had to be beyond doubt.

"Producers form a relationship with their scanner, and they don't want someone new because it's all about trust," he said.

Mr Evans said there were dangers in accrediting the wrong people just to fill gaps.

"If you get the wrong person doing it, it causes more damage than getting the right person," he said.

He said some new recruits had left within 18 months, proving it was not a role to be taken lightly, and technology costs were a major hurdle to attracting newcomers.

"New gear could cost up to around $70,000 just to get started," he said.

He said Australia's producers expected results on the spot, not delays from overseas analysis which was another barrier for entry.

"CUP systems could take a week, two weeks, or even months, and that doesn't work for our clients," he said.

Despite the strain, Mr Evans said scanners were deeply committed to their clients and succession was already front of mind.

"No one in the industry is going to walk away without training someone to take on the work," he said.

"More than 20,000 head a year came across my screen, and I would not walk away unless I was injured or in a box."

Mr Reid agreed that succession, not scarcity, should define the industry's future.

"I'm not worried there won't be someone to take over eventually - there are plenty of good young people showing interest, it's just about timing," he said.