Farmers forced to electronically tag their cattle and deer from next October could be in for hidden benefits, the Wairarapa-based boss of a leading tag company says.
Shane McManaway, chief executive of Allflex, on Wednesday hosted about 60 people at his Matarawa deer farm to present innovative ALEIS International radio frequency
identification (RFID) technology which could revolutionise farming.
All cattle and deer will soon be registered under the Government-controlled National Animal Identification and Tracing system, designed to maintain confidence of export markets in the safety and disease-free status of New Zealand's livestock products.
Mr McManaway showed the visitors a range of RFID technology, from portable ''wands'' used to individually scan ear tags to ''multi-lane'' technology that scans many moving animals at the same time and is designed for larger livestock operations, such as freezing works or saleyards.
He acknowledged the new rules would have a ''huge impact'' on farmers across the country, but believed the technology could turn an ''imposition into an opportunity''. Having a computer database of stock would allow farmers to better monitor and move around herds, while also acting as a biosecurity safeguard.
The system was backed by Dr Tony Britt, who was visiting from Victoria, where he is animal standards manager for the state's Department of Primary Industries, which helps monitor around 4.4 million head of cattle.
Electronic tagging was rolled out there nearly a decade ago after a 1996 food safety scare caused a major failure in the market.
''This country is a major exporter of red meat _ and you've got to understand how much caution there is around food safety,'' Dr Britt said.
Wairarapa Federated Farmers president Anders Crofoot said local farmers ''certainly aren't thrilled'' about the new rules, but added there were still uncertainties around how much money and time it would cost farmers to adopt the technology.
He said if the cost of tags were low enough, the regulations may turn out to be economically worthwhile.
He described the ALEIS technology as ''very impressive stuff'', which he thought could also have huge benefits to farmers.
