Cormac Tagging has received official notification from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, that it has been approved to supply cattle tags to farmers.

It is the second cattle tag supplier to be approved after Mullinahone Co-op was approved last week.

In the coming weeks Cormac Tagging will be able to supply cattle tags, with the Galway-based company currently awaiting final sign off of its IT system by the Department.

Farmers will be able to buy the new Caisley patented sets of tags with tissue sampling capabilities, as well as electronic tag sets and replacement tags from the company.

The tissue tag has a less than 1% loss rate over the first year, according to Cormac Tagging.

The company has also announced that it is to offer free replacements of Caisley tags for the one-year duration of the contract offered by the Department of Agriculture.

The cattle tags are widely used in Northern Ireland where the cattle tissue tag is used by over 70% of herd keepers, according to the company.

A statement from the company said it has repeatedly tendered for this contract over the last 14 years to supply cattle tags to Irish herd-keepers.

The Caisley cattle tissue tag set will retail at €2.68 including the ICBF contribution and VAT, while a free applicator will be given away with every 50 sets of tags, the company said.