There are three big issues which have been at the forefront of farmers’ minds this summer: EID – electronic individual identification of sheep – the threat of bluetongue and falling milk prices. They were all top of the agenda at a meeting last week of the NFU, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers’ Union. Karen Dent asked three North East farmers for views.
EID – Stoker Frater
COMPULSORY electronic sheep tagging is due to come into force throughout the EU from January 2010 in the teeth of widespread opposition.
Sheep farming organisations across the UK have teamed up with their counterparts in Europe to protest against the new regulations and demand opt-outs from a blanket introduction.
The plans to attach electronic ear tags to every single sheep are fatally flawed and will reduce animal traceability, according to Stoker Frater.
Mr Frater, who farms at Abberwick near Alnwick and is the NFU council delegate for Northumberland, says there are a host of problems associated with the regulations. He is particularly concerned about the reliability and effectiveness of the tags and equipment.
"We’ve had tests all over the place with tag manufacturers and none have proved 100%.
"The technology’s not ready, the farmers aren’t ready, even Defra’s not ready," he said.
"At Malton mart, the concrete floor had metal reinforcements and it didn’t work – the metal’s radio waves clashed with the reader.
"When you try to read these tags with a reader, how do you know which ones didn’t work? It’s barcodes not numbers.
"It’ll be such a mess trying to educate farmers into using technology that’s proven not to work."
He advocates a return to the old tagging system which was superceded a couple of years ago by new regulations which he believes do not provide the same levels of traceability.
"In the old system, we had full traceability, then Defra and trading standards changed the rules and traceability wasn’t as good," he said.
"I’m all for traceability. We had full traceability with individual tags. I could tell you where every single one of my lambs and ewes went. It was all on paper and on the computer as well. I think they changed it so they could say we have no traceability at the minute."
He reckons the situation will considerably worsen when EID comes in.
"Traceability will go out of the window.
"If we have any outbreaks of disease within four to five years of them introducing this, we will have no traceability, we will not know where stock went."
The UK has around 25 million ewes, plus lambs, the highest number in Europe.
The average British flock is around 440 ewes, compared to just 12 in Europe.
"I think it will have a major effect on the smaller farmer. They physically couldn’t do it," said Mr Frater.
"We’re selling 3,000 lambs a year – can you imagine the work we’ll have to do? I’m 58 and there are heck of a lot older farmers in the hills doing sheep and they won’t be able to cope.
"Can you imagine a 75-year-old farmer on the side of Cheviot trying to read lambs on a database? Hopefully there will be derogations for lambs but they will still need to be tagged. That same man on the side of Cheviot probably sells all his lambs as store, so he needs to use EID.
"It’s another burden on elderly farmers. Many don’t have computers. They seem to have the assumption that everyone is young and is computer-orientated."
He says the NFU is trying to get as many derogations as possible under regulations but he is worried that farmers’ concerns are not being taken into account.
"The technology is not good enough. EID has been introduced without any technology and no training," he said. "We’re opening up a Pandora’s Box."