Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has today (Wednesday, September 20) launched a new smartphone app allowing farmers to log farm-to-farm movements of sheep.
This marks the first phase of a new app developed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) called “AIM Services”.
When fully rolled out, the app will allow keepers to notify all livestock movements directly to the department without the use of paper.
Sheep
Initially, the app, which can be downloaded on the DAFM website, will allow sheep farmers to notify their farm-to-farm movements from their phone.
This means these farmers will no longer need to post the “pink copy” of the dispatch document to their local regional veterinary officer (RVO).
They will, however, continue to be required to record the movement data and their flock register and to keep copies of the pink and white dispatch documents there for record keeping purposes.
Minister McConalogue said that his ultimate goal is to provide all livestock keepers with a digital alternative to paper to notify the department of required animal movement information.
“Posting forms is outdated, expensive and time consuming. The new AIM services app is a cost effective and efficient way for sheep farmers to instantly report their farm-to-farm movements.
“The immediacy of the notification will also further enhance our highly regarded animal traceability systems,” Minister McConalogue said.
DAFM
The use of the app is optional, farmers can still choose to notify the department of farm-to-farm movements of sheep in the usual way.
The keeper of the source herd is similarly required to keep the yellow copy of the relevant dispatch document in their flock register for inspection purposes.
Officials from DAFM’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) Division will be available at the department’s stand at the National Ploughing Championship this week to help farmers to download, install and use the app.
The department is planning further development of the app later this year which will allow sheep and goat keepers to complete their 2023 annual census through the app.
It is expected that the AIM Services portal will be extended to other sheep movements and to other species throughout 2024 and beyond.