After decades of electronic tags for cattle being around the corner, it looks like they are finally on their way, and it can’t come soon enough.

It will be good news for the beef sector as farms, marts and abattoirs will save significant amounts of time reading and checking tags for cattle. Now that we have decided to go with the UHF and LF technology, there is opportunity for exciting technology to track animal performance. This could see the beef sector further increase productivity as shown by our dairy herds, which are on for a record productive year. As Brexit unfolds, we need to continue to drive the cost of production down wherever possible if we are to be competitive with other beef producing sectors.

Next year also sees the switch from the British Cattle Movement Service to ScotEID. It is hoped this will be a cheaper service than the current £2m a year spent by the Scottish Government as our contribution. Bringing the system to an industry-owned body like ScotEID opens up greater possibility for industry-led initiatives for disease control and animal performance.

Further, we could take the cattle passport out of cross-compliance which would be one less thing to get caught out with at inspection.

But this won’t all be without teething problems. With over half a million calves registered every year, problems will arise. However, with so much negativity surrounding cattle in Scotland at the moment, this is a piece of good news and offers a step forward for the sector.