NSW Farmers say sheep and goat tags should cost no more than $1

Nine months ago, just after the government mandated the national roll-out of electronic identification (eID) tags for sheep and goats, producers at Dubbo questioned who was going to cover the costs of the system.

On Monday it was the same story when The Land revisited the saleyards and put the question to those there what they thought about eID tags.

It comes as NSW Farmers has set a clear target for state and federal governments that tags should cost no more than $1 each.

Back in the saleyards, many were concerned about the costs for tags and management tools needed especially given the market prices and drier conditions.

Others were adamant it was a knee-jerk reaction to disease outbreaks overseas.

There were some who were happy it was being mandated to ensure Australia stayed at the top of the food chain for traceability from paddock to plate.

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And then there was Brian Schloeffel, Aleon Dubbo.

Mr Schloeffel invited those "calling the shots" on eID to come out to the farm and do a day's work tagging sheep and then see if they think it's a good idea.

"People calling the shots need to come out here and do it," Mr Schloeffel said.

"They need to get hands-on to really understand what it takes to tag thousands of sheep and then let's see what happens after that.

"And let's not talk about when you get a non-reader out of 800 sheep, you are going to have to unload the whole lot again."

Mr Schloeffel said there were many producers who were getting older and their children did not want to take on the farm.

"It's a pain, it is an unwelcome cost and it will drive people out," he said.

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Andrew Wall, Malabar, Lightning Ridge, who has property in Victoria, NSW and Queensland, agreed it was yet another cost for no reason.

"Just because you put a tag in the ear, it's not going to stop an outbreak," Mr Wall said.

"We don't need a $2 tag, it's labour costs that just don't add up.

"We have four properties, so if we move stock we are going to need readers at all of our properties."

Mr Wall said the implementation of the tags was a knee-jerk reaction to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Bali last year.

"It's happened in Bali before and we all survived it," he said.

He added that unless the government combats the growing pig problem in western NSW then tags were not going to solve the problem.

"If there is a disease they will just shut us down, so what is a tag going to do?" he said.

"If you talk to anyone in Victoria (who currently tag sheep and goats) they are against it as it doesn't work for them.

"New Zealand looked at it and they are not going down this path.

"And when it comes to theft, the first thing they are going to do is take the tag out so where is the traceability that they all keep talking about."

Dubbo Stock and Station Agents Association president Martin Simmons said with the change of government the implementation of eID tags had stalled.

Last year, he said the then Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders' 'hand was forced' and he needed to make a decision because of FMD.

"But with the change of government we have not heard much about it," Mr Simmons said.

Mr Simmons said there was apprehension from producers as the clock was ticking and there was no clarity around the cost of the tags.

"Whether we like it or not, it's coming," he said.

He said agents would be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the issue.

Scott Purseglove, Trangie, said he was "not for" tags due to extra costs and did not see a benefit, especially with current market prices.

Ross Plasto, Plasto and Company, Wellington, said it was coming and he would like to retire before that happened so he didn't have to go throug it.

"The bureaucrats think they are solving the problem. Dugald Saunders was the last to mention anything about it, but we've not seen anything since then," Mr Plasto said.

Shane Russell from Schute Bell Whitbread and Co, Bourke, said it was a knee-jerk reaction and nothing had come of it.

John Cain, Cobar, said it was labour intensive to tag animals, especially six to 10-year-old billies.

"It would be full-on getting a tag in," Mr Cain said.

Andrew Gordon, Bourke, said he had not heard much information about the tags and would wait to see if they were really mandated.

Those in favour of the tags include Thomas Foods International livestock buyer for the Central West Glen Peterson, because of traceability.

The same sentiments were shared by Paul Besgrove, Hardwicks Meats, who said tags needed to come in 'sooner than later'.

"It will help in market protection for domestic and exports. We need it in place," he said. "We can't be like everyone else in the world - we need to be better."

Meanwhile, NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin said it was important to set a maximum cost for tags amid growing angst from producers.

"Farmers are rightly becoming increasingly concerned about the costs," Mr Martin said.

Mr Martin said the association's executive council had looked at what other state governments were providing their producers and calculated a maximum price of $1 per tag was reasonable for the NSW government to support, given biosecurity benefits to everyone - not just producers.

"Farmers need support in reducing the cost of accredited eID National Livestock Identification System devices, including ear tags and similar identification technology under this reform," Mr Martin said.

"The last thing we want to see is a significant cost burden borne by producers who are now required to transition to using eID by the government."