Improving efficiency and traceability with sheep eIDs

Sheep producers Alastair Michael (pictured above) and Russell Fowler explain why they became early adopters of electronic tagging and how it continues to benefit their businesses.

The sheep industry takes its quality standards seriously, from establishing and anticipating customer specifications to the demonstrating and reporting of specific measures. Our sophisticated traceability systems guarantee the integrity of Australia’s sheepmeat and wool products to our customers.

There are many benefits to using electronic identification (eID) for sheep traceability, and producers who haven’t already made the shift to electronic tagging should be aware that mandatory eID for sheep and goats has been agreed by all Commonwealth, State and Territory Agriculture Ministers.  

In these two videos, two sheep producers from South Australia and Tasmania, share their experience as early adopters of eID and how individual tagging has continued to benefit their businesses.

Alistair Michael, South Australia

Alistair Michael is a fifth-generation sheep producer from Snowtown, South Australia. Together with his father and brothers he runs ‘Leahcim’, the family’s sheep enterprise, stud, and bloodstock business in the state’s mid-north. 

In this short video he shares his experience as an early adopter of electronic identification (eID) and explains why he believes other sheep producers should get in early to enjoy the advantages electronic tags can deliver in terms of traceability and stock performance.

Russell Fowler, Tasmania

Russ Fowler is a seventh-generation sheep producer whose family have been farming in Tasmania’s central highlands since 1825. Today, he runs ‘Bendeveron’, a 3,000-hectare mixed farming enterprise focused primarily on sheep production.

In this short video he explains why he became an early adopter of electronic identification and how it is helping him efficiently manage the traceability and provenance of each animal in his flock.

How to get started

Specific rules apply to each jurisdiction and producers should refer to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website for more specific information on these changes and details of the latest implementation plan.  

For further information, please refer to the Accredited Devices List for Sheep and Goats and ISC’s Tools and Resources, together with a list of FAQs about animal tagging.