The state’s peak farming body has welcomed a ‘common sense’ timeline for electronic sheep and goat tags in NSW.
The NSW Government announced all sheep and farmed goats born after January 1, 2025 would require an electronic tag before leaving a property, and from January 1, 2027 all farmed sheep and goats would require an eID tag.
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin welcomed the announcement, which was made in consultation with producers and industry groups.
“We’ve heard from some farmers about issues around timeframes and harvested rangeland goats, and from the outset we have said producers need enough time to implement eID properly,” Mr Martin said.
“Farmers shouldn’t have to put tags in ears until they can be scanned at the saleyard and the processor, and this implementation plan will ensure the supply chain is ready to accept animals with eID devices.
“It’s important that any reforms are manageable and able to be rolled out practically, and that’s the approach we’re seeing from the NSW Government.”
Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders said he was committed to providing NSW producers with the smoothest possible transition, while maintaining a strong focus on biosecurity, and work would continue across all sectors to determine what critical infrastructure was needed and how it would be funded.
Mr Martin said that while the timeline answered some important questions, it was important to ensure costs were managed – especially for tags – so that producers did not end up paying for this reform.
“There’s no point setting arbitrary timelines that can’t be met, the transition to electronic tags must be done simply and efficiently to avoid potential problems,” Mr Martin said.
“It looks like the Minister wants to set us up for success here in NSW, and we’ll continue to work through the NSW Sheep and Goat Traceability Reference Group to make sure we plan around potential obstacles.
“At the end of the day we want an affordable system that works for everyone.”
