Victorian cattle producers are expected to collectively save about $1 million on their NLIS (Cattle) tags, thanks to the Brumby Government’s commitment to delivering real benefits to primary producers.
Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said from tomorrow (April 1) producers will be able to purchase Leader or Allflex tags, through the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), for the subsidised price of $1.20 and $1.40 respectively.
“Producers in Victoria were paying $1.65 for cattle tags and other states are currently paying more than double the new price for comparable tags, so this is a huge win for Victorian producers,” Mr Helper said.
“The low prices have been achieved through a competitive tendering process, the efficient tag ordering system that DPI has established and funding from the Cattle Compensation Fund.”
Mr Helper said during 2009, the NLIS database recorded almost 5 million transactions relating to cattle movements into, out of, or within Victoria.
“Most of this information is received electronically by the NLIS database, within 24 hours of the movement taking place,” he said.
“To the credit of industry participants throughout Victoria, the operation of the NLIS (Cattle) in our state is recognised internationally for its best practice.”
Mr Helper said the NLIS (Cattle) was introduced in Victoria in 1999 following the failure of the tail-tag system during residue and disease incidents that occurred in the mid 1990s.
“NLIS (Cattle) tags are also very useful for on-farm herd management purposes by improving the collection of production information such as weight gain/loss, reproductive performance and veterinary treatment history,” he said.
“To assist producers order their cattle identification tags, DPI’s ‘Livestock Tags On-line’ service has been upgraded. Producers now have an easy, fast and secure way of ordering their NLIS tags 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Producers can simply go to the DPI web site at www.dpi.vic.gov.au and follow the prompts to ‘Livestock Tags On-line’. They will be asked for their PIC and some information about their property to enable DPI to confirm their identity.”
The two companies Leader Products and Allflex Australia are jointly the preferred suppliers of Victorian NLIS (Cattle) ear tags following a recent competitive tender.
For further information, contact DPI’s NLIS Helpline on 1800 678 779 during business hours.