Since the introduction of electronic tagging requirements for all sheep and goats born after January 1, 2017, more than 20million tags have been purchased by producers.
At saleyards, more than 2.8million sheep have been scanned and uploaded to the NLIS database since scanning was made mandatory in March 2018.
Agriculture Victoria’s Michael Bretherton said the new year had marked another important milestone for Victoria’s transition to electronic identification for sheep and goats.
All sheep and non-exempt goats introduced from interstate born on or after January 1, 2019 must be tagged with an electronic pink post-breeder tag before being dispatched from a Victorian property.
‘‘Introduced lambs born after January 1, 2019 require an electronic pink NLIS post-breeder tag before they leave a Victorian property unless they already have an electronic ear tag,’’ Mr Bretherton said.
‘‘With millions of sheep and lambs expected to be sold at saleyards this year, Victorian producers need to ensure all sheep born after January 1, 2017, regardless of where they were born, are tagged correctly in alignment with the electronic NLIS requirements and the manufacturer’s instructions.’’
Interstate producers will need to continue to meet their individual state requirements for tagging and identification of sheep and goats.
This year electronic NLIS sheep tags are available at subsidised prices from 55¢ per tag.
■For more information, visit: agriculture.vic.gov.au/sheepEID or phone 1800 678 779 during business hours.