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The requirement for lambs sold through marts to be tagged with a full set of EID tags will destroy lamb sales, according to ICOS’s mart representative Ray Doyle.
The majority of sheep marts will opt out of installing EID systems, Doyle said.
For farmers, EID tagging will be compulsory for all lambs from 1 June. Lambs sent straight to the factory will only require one EID tag. However, lambs sold through a mart must have a full set of EID tags.
Doyle said marts would be severely disadvantaged by the Department of Agriculture’s decision to implement a two-tier system for marts and factories.
Legislation would allow lambs with one tag to move through marts. Doyle said if the Department changed its mind on the tagging requirements, marts would look favourably on EID.
New system
Meanwhile, factories are resolving a number of “operational aspects” before progressing their applications to participate in the new system.
Joe Ryan of Meat Industry Ireland (MII) told the Irish Farmers Journal: “MII is engaging with the Department on the roll-out of electronic tagging and the implications at processing plant level including infrastructure changes, hardware and associated software.”
IFA sheep chair Sean Dennehy said 34,000 sheep farmers would not be happy if, come 1 June, nothing changed bar the cost of tagging lambs.
He said the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed had promised both marts and factories would have provide farmers with print-outs. This would remove the need to record individual tag numbers on dispatch dockets.
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