Macra welcomes increase in cattle tag suppliers

The recent announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to allow new suppliers process bovine ear tags is cautiously welcomed by Macra.

Macra na Feirme national president Seán 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.

A scenario where some suppliers attempt to produce sub-standard tags must not become a reality. Sub-standard quality tags have the potential to become a financial burden on farmers.

Finan concluded by saying: ‘‘Inferior tags increase the chances of animals losing tags, subsequently affecting the farmer’s ability to comply with their cross-compliance obligations under animal ID. Lesser quality tags also run the risk of affecting animal traceability.’’