Department asks farmers to go online with tags
FARMERS have been strongly advised by the Dept. of Agriculture to consider availing of the Electronic Herd Register and to dispense with the requirement of using the ‘Blue Book’ for animal details.
In a statement issued by the Department last week, they say that farmers who register their animals electronically can avail of the Electronic Herd Register that is linked directly to the Animal Identification and Movement System (AIM).
“The number of farmers notifying calf registrations electronically is showing a steady growth pattern with over one in four farmers notifying calf registrations electronically last year.
“In 2014, over one million calves were registered electronically representing almost 50% of the 2.1 million calves registered,” the Department states.
They point to four main advantages of the Electronic Herd Register:
■ Farmers are exempted from using the herd register section of the ‘Blue Book’.
■ Significant reductions in error levels.
■ Reduces the amount of paperwork for farmers.
■ Reduces the risk of financial penalties arising at cross compliance inspections.
According to the Department, farmers and the information they supply, are ‘the bedrock of bovine traceability, and they have asked farmers to keep up to speed with the main requirements of the legislation.
The Dept. stress that calves should be tagged within 20 days of birth and registered within a further seven days; that all calves born after Jan. 1, 2013, cannot be sold or moved unless they have tested negative for BVD; that animal passports should be checked and signed when they arrive and to ensure that stock moving on, or off, their holding are properly tagged and carded.
“Ireland places a strong reliance on an effective cattle traceability system in the context of the heavy dependence of the Irish beef and dairying sectors on gaining and maintaining a strong foothold in high value export markets.
“Traceability from farm to fork is the bedrock of all of the demanding standards required by customers. Accurate bovine traceability is essential to provide consumer confidence and assurances about the quality of Irish beef on the domestic and export markets.
“An accurate traceability system is also of major importance in the event of a major disease outbreak to enable the Department to trace the movements of cattle and identify the source and the scale of the outbreak,” the Dept. states.
- Any farmer wishing to obtain more information on the Department’s online services may log directly onto www.agfood.ie or contact the Department’s Online Helpdesk on 1890-252-118 to register over the telephone.