Industry is calling for NSW government to simply say yes or no as to whether it will be offering a tag subsidy for the mandatory roll-out of electronic identification for sheep and goats (eID).
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With just eight months until all sheep and farmed goats born after January 1 will require an eID device, NSW is the last government to show its hand on tag subsidies as lobby groups, in frustration, pull their support for the roll-out.
The Land asked the NSW government whether it would commit to tag subsidies in which a spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty's office said: "The Minister will be making further announcements about the eID program in the weeks ahead".
It comes as The Land reported two weeks ago it would take at least $5 million to have a subsidy that would bring tag costs under $1 for a year, which would be funded from money left over from the $38m eID infrastructure rebate scheme announced in August last year.
The government did not respond as whether there was money remaining from that scheme.
NSW Farmers' sheepmeat committee member, Floyd Legge, has again called for the NSW government to align itself with the other states by offering tag subsidy to reduce the cost to $1 per tag for primary producers.
"The government needs to show their hands rather than talk about the possibility," Mr Legge said.
"They have to make a point of saying yes we are going to do it, or no we are not going to do anything about tags.
They have to make a point of saying yes we are going to do it, or no we are not going to do anything about tags.
- Floyd Legge, NSW Farmers' sheepmeat committee
"We need that clarity. The clock is ticking and we are under eight months away from the mandatory introduction of sheep and farmed goats born next year to have eID."
Meanwhile, stock and station agents are also anxious about the timeframe.
Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association (ALPA) chief executive officer Peter Baldwin said there were great concerns as to whether the saleyards would be ready to handle the roll-out.
"It's a race against time, it's like having the horse races set down for a date and you don't have the barriers in place," Mr Baldwin said.
"When people set idealistic, definitive dates and don't have the equipment in place it's a concern."
Mr Baldwin said ALPA's argument from day one was how much the system was going to cost, who paid for it and the time frame in which it was set.
"Ask anyone in the construction industry or anyone building a home, can you seriously meet a timeline when you know the reality of it is that we can't get contractors to build it," he said.
Dubbo Stock and Station Agents Association president, Martin Simmons, said producers wanted tag subsidies and were getting anxious.
"Producers are the ones paying for it, the demand is on those guys," Mr Simmons said.
"It makes it difficult when every state is handling it differently, there should be a more uniform approach nationally, not state by state.
"For agents, having the system right is important so we have plenty of time to get it right by 2025 and have a better understanding of how it will work."
Mr Simmons said readers off the draft races at Dubbo saleyards had been installed on Tuesday, but the software for the equipment wouldn't be installed until later in the year.
More than 1700 farmers, processors and saleyards had taken up government rebates to prepare for the roll-out.
"The roll-out of the eID program is running smoothly," a spokesperson for the Minister's office said.
"The NSW government is committed to maintaining our strong biosecurity record, demonstrated by our financial support for sheep and farmed goat eID - the largest of any jurisdiction in Australia."
There were 1671 primary producers, 27 saleyards, 11 processors, and 40 stock and station agents.
While some equipment may have been installed, it did not indicate full utilisation by the saleyards at this time and software integration and substantial trials were still required before it could be deemed fully operational.
Ms Moriarty was at Griffith on April 12 where she made a $1.4 million funding announcement to help facilities roll-out eID where she told The Area News: "our investment demonstrates our commitment to this particular facility so that it can thrive well into the future".
All meat processors will be required to start eID scanning farmed sheep and goats from June 30, 2024, while all saleyards, depots and property-to-property transfers of stock will require eID scanning from January 1, 2025.
