Last week, the Department of Agriculture ditched the idea of a single supplier of cattle tags after pressure from some tag supply companies who claimed that the current system was anti-competitive. But this has led to fears that if tag price is no longer regulated by the Department, smaller herd owners will in future have to pay more for their tags than larger farmers.

In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal, IFA national animal health chair Bert Stewart said that a switch to multiple suppliers free to set their own prices may have a negative effect on smaller herd owners.

“We will be insisting that the new department policy will ensure that all farmers, regardless of size, will have access to the same level of service and the most competitive tag price from all suppliers licensed by the Department,” Stewart said.

“The Department cannot allow small-scale farmers to be disenfranchised by selective marketing from tag supply companies, wishing to cherry-pick parts of the market.”

However, Cormac Tagging, one of the suppliers who pressurised the Department to change the single supplier framework, believes this argument is untrue. Spokesperson Ursula Kelly told the Irish Farmers Journal that they will “sell their tags equally to farmers nationwide” and that they “completely disagree” with the IFA statements.

Presently, farmers pay €2.70 per animal for one conventional and one tissue tag. This includes VAT and a 38c contribution to ICBF. This price is fixed for the length of the tender and available to all farmers. However, with multiple suppliers, it is possible that companies would set their own prices and that would lead to discounts for bigger farmers buying large quantities. This is concurrent with the situation in Britain.

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.

The tender, which is worth in the region of €20m, has been held by Mullinahone Co-op for the past 14 years. It has been rumoured that a rollover system may be put in place allowing multiple suppliers enter the market, though we are unsure how this would work.