By January 2013, OJD will be combated with a national program and Australia will be divided into just two OJD regions.

Victorian Farmers Federation livestock group president Chris Nixon said they are supportive of the move to two zones, but would prefer there to be only one.

"The real issue is how easy it will be to cross the line between the protected and control zones and what will be required to jump that line," he said.

"The broad principals they are working towards sounds good in theory, but in reality it is a lot harder and we are waiting to see what details are proposed, in regards to who is going to monitor and fund the program."

The current High, Medium and Low Prevalence Areas will become either Control or Protected Areas, and producers will be deemed to be in a Control Area unless their region can come up with a biosecurity plan.

Mr Nixon said OJD continues to be a very divisive issue within the State and encourages producers to take responsibility for the problem.

"We still have a strong preference for owners to take a stronger self interest in this by the use of sheep health statements and to rely heavily on vaccination," he said.

"We have seen a very large increase in the number of vaccinations sold over the last two years as producers have been made more aware that they have to vaccinate if they want to trade into South Australia.

"We are working towards making sure vaccination is a key component of keeping the trade alive."

Ballarat Stock and Station Agents Association president Bernie Nevins said they need to find a set of rules and stick to them, so people can stay informed.

"I am glad they aren't running a football game, it would be too confusing to keep up with all the rule changes," he said.

He also agrees that producers should be vaccinating their sheep, and won't buy sheep himself unless they are OJD vaccinated.

"Anyone in the sheep breeding game should be vaccinating their sheep, that is the best solution.

"The demand for OJD vaccinated sheep easily outweighs the non-vaccinated, so why wouldn't you – it's always better to have 100 per cent of the crowd bidding on your sheep."

The new program will start to be phased in on a State-to-State basis in July this year.