'Let Scotland trial electronic tag systems'

Despite the introduction of electronic identification of sheep having been fraught with cost and difficulty, a suggestion has been made that Scotland should "be on the front foot" in taking on the challenge of electronically identifying cattle.

Jim McLaren, chairman of Quality Meat Scotland, proposed that rather than having an inappropriate cattle EID system imposed by Europe, the Scottish cattle industry, possibly helped by cash from the EU, should be a test bed for the technology.

Ever since the introduction of the cumbersome paper cattle passport in the wake of the BSE crisis, there has been a view that there must be a better method of tracking the country's cattle.

John Bell, a former chairman of the Scottish Beef Cattle Association, said that currently only 1.9 per cent of the cattle in the country carry an electronic tag but he believed that European politicians would this autumn make a decision to move to electronic tagging with an implementation date as early as next year.

This week, in a preview for a major beef event which will be held at John Cameron's farm at Balbuthie, Elie in early October, Bell and McLaren and other industry leaders were given a demonstration of how ultra high frequency tags could operate.

It is claimed this technology can read a tag from up to five metres away from the animal, giving it an advantage over competitors who are working with low frequency tags which require closer scrutiny.

McLaren said: "If it is coming, let us trial what is available. We could then make a recommendation to Europe."

The EID demonstration is just one of the many practical examples of cattle husbandry that will be showcased at the event, where the overall focus will be on improving profit margins.

Gavin Hill, beef specialist with the Scottish Agricultural College, said the timing of the event was fortuitous as it came just as producers were thinking of winter housing their cows.

He said believed many farmers overfeed their cows and advised that as they were brought into the winter housing a check should be made on their condition. Over-feeding could cost as much as 40 per head he claimed, adding that over-fat cows tend to have more problems at calving time.

He added that more than a quarter of all finished cattle entering abattoirs are too fat, while 15 per cent are overweight at over 400kg. Apart from the cost to the processing businesses in trimming off this fat, he said producers should know fat takes four times the energy to produce than lean tissue - ie, red meat.