The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland recently announced that the prefix code on Northern Ireland livestock identification tags (ear tags) is set to change from ‘UK’ to ‘XI’ this year.
In response to this, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) is urging members not to stock up on UK tags, as the XI tags will be available to purchase later this year.
Following this announcement, the UFU has raised concerns to DAERA over what it has claimed was the “lack of consultation”, and the little time it gives UFU members to use up the UK tags they have already purchased.
The UFU also stated that the “lack of assurance” on the change of UK tags may cause issues for a lot of farmers.
UFU deputy president John McLenaghan said:
“According to DAERA, it is a legal requirement under EU animal health law, and is necessary to allow NI unfettered access to the EU market.
“It is critical that when using these new XI tags, that we still have access to premium markets in Great Britain and our product can still be labelled as UK origin beef.”
DAERA response on ear tags
On the DAERA website, farmers were given the opportunity to ask questions about the tags being changed from ‘UK’ to ‘XI’.
DAERA stated there will be a “transition period” before the use of ‘XI’ becomes mandatory, and during this time it will be possible for farmers to tag newborn animals with either old stocks of ‘UK’ tags, or the new ‘XI’ tags.
At the end of the “transition period”, provisionally expected in January 2025, only XI ear tags will be allowed for use.
DAERA added that the new ‘XI’ tags are expected to be available later this year, when the “necessary” department database changes have been made to accommodate this change.
One of the main questions asked, was why is this change being brought in?
DAERA responded that the introduction of ‘XI’ will ensure compliance with legal obligations, and will allow for continued access to both the EU and UK domestic markets.
The department also confirmed that there will be no compensation available for obsolete tags; therefore keepers are being reminded that they should not order a supply of ‘UK’ prefixed tags, which they will not be able to use by January 2025.