Call to defer sheep and goat scanning in saleyards as eID deadline gets closer

WA saleyards will now have until July 1, 2025 to implement scanning of the electronic identification tags, while the deadline to have eID in place for property to property movements for older sheep has been pushed out until July 1, 2026.

Newborn lambs and kids will still all need to be eID tagged by the start of 2025.

Previously all movements of sheep and managed goats were set to require eID tags by January 1, 2025.

WA agriculture minister Jackie Jarvis said the changes were in response to first-hand feedback she received from the WA Sheep and Goat Advisory Committee and a number of sheep producers.

"The amendments allow WA to take a considered approach to implementation, while still maintaining momentum," she said.

WA Farmers livestock section president Geoff Pearson said even with the extended deadline he would encourage producers to implement eID tagging as soon as possible to take advantage of the ear tag rebate that will available until the end of this year.

"The government's made the decision that this is what we need to work with so let's work with it... we need to implement this system sooner rather than later," he said.

"Change is a hard thing and no one likes change but if you can see benefits in not only biosecurity but productivity, market access and traceability, it's definitely a plus for us in livestock to be able conduct our business and operate under that system."

Australian Livestock Markets Association president Ken Rogers said that other states should consider following WA's lead, particularly given the financial pressures currently being faced by the sheep industry.

"With the weather the way it is and the predictions for a hot, dry summer, people are offloading their stock now, prices are coming back so saleyards as well as producers are all up against it," he said.

"So I think the WA government has acted with some compassion in extending the time to allow saleyards and producers to have a bit of breathing space before they have to expend these funds.

"We certainly hope other states will do similar."

Mr Rogers said ALMA had been working with state committees to push for the hardware and software required for the changeover to be fully funded.

"In NSW we've had some real success there in terms of the government funding and we're working with Queensland," he said.

"I have a virtual meeting shortly with the Western Australian committee to see how we can assist them to bring the funds to the table, we've just begun talks with the SA government committee and we've reached out to the Tasmanian government as well.

"It's a work in progress really."

SheepProducers Australia CEO Bonnie Skinner said national sheep and goat eID is being implemented to strengthen traceability for biosecurity, food safety, emergency response, and to support trade and market access requirements.

"The cost to transition to eID and the associated system changes required to support that transition are the most significant steps in constructing a more robust system," she said.

"Transitional assistance from federal and state governments is critical given the current situation with commodity prices and the seasonal forecasts that producers will continue to endure as this regulation is implemented."

AgForce Queensland sheep and goat board president Stephen Tully said producers needed to be involved at a national level in the rollout process.

"If they were, all of this farce could have been sorted out a long time ago," he said.

"There are all sorts of issues involved that really need everybody to sit around the table and work them out."

Mr Tully said Agforce was calling for a prolonged rollout for older animals that were already tagged and for funding to help producers alleviate the cost burden of making the switch.

"People are shooting sheep now because they're not giving any value or they've giving sheep away," he said.

"From a Queensland perspective we're supposed to pay $17 in freight, plus $2 for a tag to get $10 at the saleyard or a meatworks in NSW or Victoria.

"It's just a disaster waiting to happen at the moment."

Naracoorte Regional Livestock Exchange is the largest sheep saleyards in South Australia, with 49.6 per cent of all sheep throughput for the state in the 2021-22 season, and has been lobbying the state's Department of Primary Industries and Regions and the initial LivestockSA eID committee to get the mandatory scanning date extended.

Naracoorte Lucindale Council infrastructure and services director Daniel Willsmore said extending the date to allow a staged roll out would ensure the impact on vendors and buyers was limited.

"To date guidelines on how to receive the funding from the state government has not been provided," he said.

"We call on the state to follow Western Australia's lead and extend the mandatory scanning date."

SA Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said even with the time extension, WA's schedule to implement these requirements is still earlier than South Australia's timeline.

"Both WA and SA are scheduled to require sheep and farmed goats born on or after 1 January 2025 to be eID tagged before leaving their properties of birth," she said.

"This date has not changed.

"The WA Government has, however, deferred the requirement for all other sheep and farmed goats to be eID tagged before leaving their property from 1 January 2025 to 1 July 2026.

"SA is scheduled to implement this requirement on 1 January 2027.

South Australia has not yet determined a timeline for mandatory scanning for saleyards and abattoirs or property to property movements."