WAFarmers, 28 July 2022

WAFarmers Livestock Council advises members of an update in policy on the implementation of EID tags for sheep and goats. The council has a standing policy to support EID tags for traceability in sheep and goats based on government funding to assist in the implementation of a national database to manage a national standardised process.

In an article in the West Australian on Thursday 21 July, Minister for Agriculture, Alannah MacTiernan, advised “that electronic ear tags are set to become mandatory across Australia’s 70.6 million-head sheep flock, which is expected to cost WA taxpayers up to $49 million over three years to implement. The contact-tracing capability you get with electronic tagging compared to the system that we currently use on sheep is huge, and it’s very critical.”

On the back of this commentary WAFarmers Livestock Council held an out of session zoom meeting on Friday 22 July to review and update the current policy of EID tags for sheep and goats. The updated policy from the meeting reads:

“WAFarmers Livestock Council in principle supports mandatory adoption of a national system of sheep and goats EID tags for traceability and awaits details of government funding and timelines”

WAFarmers Livestock Council would like to advise members in reaching the above decision the following determining factors were considered:

Benefits

• EIDs in sheep and goats will help improve traceability
• Greater traceability will assist in managing biosecurity outbreaks such as FMD and LSD
• EID technology will benefit farm to farm, saleyard, individual, processors and live export processes.

Funding and implementation

WAFarmers Livestock council awaits clarity on government funding noting:

• The $49m quoted by the state minister is undetermined on what aspects these funds covers.
• In the past figures have been quoted at $30m for a national database system and a further $70m nationally for the required tags and scanners.

Factors required for success

• All livestock owners will need to be educated in the obligations of moving towards electronic completion of NVD’s and Waybills including the accuracy of reporting.
• Ongoing funding from Government or industry needs to be clarified
• A national rather than state-based system is critical, with a national database capable of managing system.
• Industry consultation critical on the timeline for mandatory implementation. 3 years quoted by the minister – this needs clarification.
• Availability of RFID chips for tags is likely to be an issue.
• WAFarmers Livestock Council would like to see an EID tag manufacturer based in WA.
• DPIRD will need to increase their resource capability within their livestock traceability team.

WAFarmers Livestock Council will continue to work closely with the Sheep and Goat Traceability Working Group which is determining the process and timeline of the introduction of EID’s, to bring best outcomes for our members on traceability. 

Should you have any matters to discuss with the WAFarmers Livestock Council with regards to the above update please contact WAFarmers Livestock President Geoff Pearson lakepreston@twpearson.com or Livestock Policy Manager Melanie Tolich melanietolich@wafarmers.org.au.