Farmers here pay less to tag their cattle than farmers in the UK. This is despite just one approved supplier here versus multiple suppliers in the UK.

  • Mullinahone charges a flat €2.70 per animal for one conventional and one tissue tag. This includes VAT and a 38c contribution to ICBF. The price is the same for 10 or 100 pairs.
  • A broadly comparable tag combination selling online in the UK costs €4.56 and that applies for up to 49 sets. This is the Caisley Combo 25, which is a large tissue tag and a medium-sized identification tag, but without bar codes. That is the price after adding the UK’s 20% VAT and converting to Euro at a rate of 0.79. The UK price obviously does not include the ICBF’s 38c.
  • UK sellers discount for larger orders. For orders of 50-99, the Caisley tags cost €3.95, for over 100 it’s €3.49.
  • Some UK companies bundle the BVD lab test into the price of their tags, resulting in higher prices. For example, Fearing’s tissue/identifier combination, including lab test, costs €7.97 for up to 20 pairs and €7.52 for larger orders.

    • Here, farmers pay separately for the BVD test at a cost of €2.70 to €3.70. UK farmers are not obliged to use tissue test tags, do not have to have a bar code and can use button tags.

    A farmer there, tagging calves with one large identifier tag and one button tag, without bar codes, can buy pairs for as low as €1.80 each, including VAT. In all cases, delivery is an additional cost.

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    The Department of Agriculture is about to invite tenders for the next contract to supply tags.

    To date, it has operated single-supplier contracts and each has been won by Mullinahone Co-op.

    The rationale behind the single-supplier option is that it gives the supplier economies of scale and avoids duplication of costs in multiple-supply countries, giving farmers lower tag prices.

    If additional suppliers were approved, discounts for larger buyers might operate and it’s unclear if the ICBF contribution would be collected.

    But other tag suppliers – including Cormac Tagging – are calling for the Department to allow more than one supplier of cattle tags. This is on the basis of giving farmers choice on brand and allowing them to buy their cattle tags from their sheep tag supplier.