The MC1 paper form for registering births of calves in NI is to be phased out in a process beginning in May 2018.

It is the latest in a number of changes made by the Department to save costs by limiting face-to-face interactions with farmers.

That comes in a week when the Department of Finance set out a number of possible budget scenarios aimed at protecting health and education, while keeping within overall spending limits.

DAERA could be one of the departments hardest hit, with officials warning that various programmes could be scaled back, while plans to deal with bovine TB, and implement a new land-use policy for NI, could be put on hold. In the worst case, direct payments going to farmers could also be delayed.

The pressure on finances means cost savings must be found, and over the past few years DAERA has successfully rolled out the online Single Application Form (SAF). The next stage is to take all calf registrations online, although it is something already widely used by many larger herds. In the past 12 months, 67% of calf registrations have been done using APHIS online.

On enquiry, a DAERA spokesperson confirmed that the paper registration form for births and deaths (MC1) is being phased out.

Consultation

“Following consultation with industry representatives DAERA has established a customer contact project, which aims to promote greater online uptake, and lead to the phased withdrawal of MC1 documents from May 2018 onwards,” the spokesperson said.

Farmers will have the option to nominate someone to record calf births online on their behalf. A telephone service that allows farmers to register newborn calves will also be retained.

“The Department will continue to keep industry partners informed as the project rolls out,” the spokesperson concluded.