Farmers will have to buy a scanning machine costing up to £6,000 and masses of tags at between 50p and £1.50 each
http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/features/farming/4346852.Farmers_opposed_to_EU_sheep_tagging_scheme/?ref=rss
Sheep EID Blogspot.... A forum for the discussion of non competitive issues and to assist regulatory bodies in their decision making where the electronic identification, recording and movement of sheep is concerned.
It's important to remember and clarify two things;
ReplyDelete1. The traceability requirement to record numbers and the consumers wish to pay for meat based on quality and care is what has driven DEFRA and those handling large numbers of sheep such as abattoirs and saleyards to seek EID.
2. As all EID tags will be printed on the outside with the same number that is encoded on the chip there is no need to have an expensive reader or software.
Beware the mis-information: There are a number of EID suppliers who claim that EID tags are useless without expensive readers and software which is absolute rubbish.
There is much discussion about the costs of EID against the benefits but the reality is actually that smaller producers will see only a marginal
increase.
Currently to double tag a breeding ewe with visual lifetime tags the cost is between 50p and 75p.
To double tag with one visual flag and one EID button is around £1.30. Hence for a 200 ewe flock the additional price will be around £150
Already the EU comissioners have been present in NZ and Australia stating that unless they have EID systems in place they will be excluded from EU markets so the roll out of EID in GB will have many benefits yet to be seen.
Lastly, tag suppliers won't benefit at all. EID tag margins are significantly smaller than those for visual tags as the cost of stock and manufacture is enormous.
In all cases it's essential that farmers don't chose the cheapest option. Quality tags that read as expected - last as long as required and don't fall out or tear out are the only solution and will save time and money in the long run!