The National Animal Identification Traceability (NAIT) project is a vital key towards future-proofing New Zealand agriculture.
It is primarily a data recording and collection system which will be compulsory, initially, for cattle farmers, followed a year later by deer farmers. It will start rolling out from October next year.
While NAIT has copped some flak, the decision is really a no-brainer. If we ignore the fact that most of our major trading partners already have animal ID systems in place and we fail to keep up, we will lose precious market share.
There will be a cost to farmers of around $2 more than what they are currently paying for non-electronic ear tags. But the focus is on ensuring that the tracing system is affordable for farmers and the wider industry.
The majority of farmers who I have spoken to agree that NAIT is an important step for New Zealand agriculture and I have been happy to see that many industry organisations also support the Government’s move.
New Zealand punches above its weight when it comes to accessing world markets and meeting the demands of our increasingly discerning consumers. NAIT is a logical step towards ensuring market confidence in our products and providing the best biosecurity protection and response possible.
For more information on the NAIT scheme you can visit the MAF website here or click here for a fact sheet.
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And what is so different about the way current stock ear tags are dealt with? Once the head is lopped off at the works, all traceability stops.
ReplyDeleteJust another rush of madness to regulate and impose unnecessary cost on farmers.
NAIT gives a comprehensive record of all animals’ movements – from farm, to processor, to supermarket - and provides a record of where all animals are at any given point of time, so that we are able to respond quickly and effectively in a biosecurity outbreak.
ReplyDeleteCurrent systems are unable to do this, because they don’t cover all animals or provide incomplete information.