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Empty calf tissue test tags cost farmers an additional €240,000 in 2017 and the empty rate has worsened in the opening weeks of 2018.
The rate of empties rose last year to 23,590, reversing the decline of the previous three years.
The figures, compiled by Animal Health Ireland (AHI), mean there was a failure rate of 1.02%. The cost of ordering a replacement tag and retest can be €10 per animal for a farmer.
Now, it appears that the failure rate has worsened in the opening weeks of 2018.
AHI figures show the empty rate for the first three weeks of January is two-thirds higher than in January 2017. If that early trend continues for the year, the cost for farmers of replacement and retesting will likewise rise.
IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell said that this was imposing an unacceptable cost burden on farmers.
He has proposed to AHI’s BVD implementation group that a mechanism be agreed under which testing labs would contact tag suppliers directly, after which a free replacement tissue tag would be sent out to the farmer, speeding up the retest.
Empties
“The increase in the number of empties can only be attributed to changes to the testing components of tags used on farms in 2017 and in some instances to processing in labs. Analysis by the Department, at my request, showed that the rate of empties is the same across all tag brands.”
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