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The Department of agriculture has decided to proceed to approve all tag suppliers whose ear-tags meet the requirements for bovine identification set down in EU Legislation. The tags must be tamper-proof and not re-usable. This process will enable the supply of approved tags from the start of November. The new arrangements will remain in place until 31 December 2017.
Delay
The decision was made in light of the fact that the EU Commission said it will take a number of months to consider an application by Ireland for new proposed standards relating to tag approval.
The Department said it has met potential tag suppliers and has invited them to submit applications for approval to supply bovine identification ear tags in Ireland from 1 November 2016.
BVD
The Department has advised tag suppliers on issues relating to the suitability of tissue tags for BVD testing purposes and has offered to provide further guidance and assistance as necessary. 'Tissue tags’ that are used for BVD testing purposes can be approved as the second official ear-tag if they meet the requirements of an identification tag.
Applications from tag suppliers for approval to supply ear tags will be assessed against the requirements of EU regulations relating to bovine identification, as well as the ancillary requirements which have been in place for many years such as secure premises and ability to interact with the Department’s IT system.
The Department will also meet with stakeholders including farm organisations and the BVD Implementation Group to update them on these arrangements.
Reaction
Meeting senior Department of Agriculture officials today, IFA Animal Health Chairman Bert Stewart has strongly criticised the move by the Department to "ignore" the legal BVD testing obligations of farmers in the national eradication programme.
Stewart said the cornerstone of the BVD programme to date has been the efficient sampling and testing approach provided to all farmers through the use of the national ID tag. He argued that this has now been fundamentally dismantled by the Department of Agriculture and poses huge challenges in achieving a successful outcome in the BVD Eradication Programme.
He called for the Department to come forward with strong financial support for farmers "who will now be exposed to further complexities and cost increases if BVD is to be eradicated and for farmers to see a return on the €45m spent to date in the programme."
"Cautious welcome"
Young farmer organisation Macra na Feirme "cautiously welcomed" the Department's move.
Macra's national president Sean Finan said: "An increase in suppliers will improve competition between suppliers with the potential benefit to the farmer of cheaper cattle tags. Multiple suppliers will increase the options for farmers therefore allowing the farmer to shop around for the best price".
However, Macra is fearful that with an increase in the amount of cattle tag suppliers, regulating the standard of the tags could cause potential problems. While certain standards must be met by producers of cattle tags, the more suppliers there are the more Department resources must be dedicated to regulating tag standards.
Guarded welcome
Meanwhile, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA) gave "a guarded welcome" to the Department's decision.
ICSA president Patrick Kent said it was vital there would be real competition as soon as the new regime commences on 1 November.
“ICSA has long favoured competition between tag suppliers in order to give farmers the best chance of value for money, top service and durable tags.”
However, Kent also said the approval process must be completed as expeditiously as possible: "We do not want to see artificial delays in granting approval to quality tags and we have outlined our view that tags which are deemed good enough for the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands etc. should also be deemed good enough in Ireland. ICSA will therefore be carefully monitoring the process and the decision taken can only truly be judged when we see several operators in business by 1 November.”
Kent also explained that ICSA has insisted to the Department that farmers must be made aware that tag cost includes a 38c voluntary levy to ICBF: “We want to ensure that the tag ordering process makes this clear and that farmers have a straightforward choice in opting in or opting out of this levy,” he said.
SHARING OPTIONS: