I see that the ICBF has extended its deadline for applications by labs to process tissue samples for the National Genotyping Programme.

The €25m contract for the job, which in the original tender was valued at €35m, now has a deadline of 12 July, instead of the original date of 29 June. The successful lab which is granted the tender will be required to receive tissue tag samples, identify empty ones, and process samples.

The ICBF expects up to 160,000 samples to be sampled per week in 2024, with a minimum of 1m and up to a maximum of 5m samples provided during the five-year scheme.

The successful lab must also have a minimum turnover of €10m/annum. I see the front-runners being the MSD-owned Identigen, Enfer labs, Weatherbys (who contract their work to Eurofins) and Independent Milk Laboratories.

The main tag manufacturers Mullinahone, Cormac Tagging and Datamars will all be accepted in the scheme.