Sheep Electronic Identification (EID) and Recording

The tagging and electronic identification of sheep was made madatory in 2010 in the United Kingdom and across much of Europe. Initially EID had a rather bad press, specifically because of the pending implimentation. However we have been working with EID and Sheep since 2002, and our customers have performed mny thousands of EID tag reads and recorded the identity of thousands of animals. 

Primarily our customers have used EID to record breeding information for EBVs etc, on  both pedigree and commercial flocks, some as large as 1800 breeding ewes. They have of course been focusing on breeding (tuppings, scanning and lambing) and weighing (birth weights,weaning weights and EBV Weights etc). Mandatory movements have not played a huge part, but soon will.

In terms of making the most of Electronic Identification on farm we must first understand what part the EID tag plays as a means of identifying the animal. Just like a barcode on a tin of baked beans in a supermarket, the EID tag and an assiciated reader make it posible to quickly identify the animal. Unlike a barcode reader the EID reader is capable of extracting the tag number from the ear tag even if it is covered in dirt or even inside the animal (in the case of a bolus). This is the primary function of the EID tag and the EID reader.

Sheep EID

The EID number includes the country (0826 for UK) the flock and individual number.

Most of the EID readers on the market then allow the collection of data associated with the read of the tag, for example a weight or lambing information. This functionality is then dependant on the software that makes up the record keeping package and may extend far beyond the requirements of official recording to meet the latest requirements.  FarmIT 3000 for example, allows the collection of lambing, tupping, scanning, weight data, breeding traits, Embryo removal and implantation, fostering, movements, medical treatments and even milking.

You may use both hand held and static EID readers. Some readers also provide additional functionality when it comes to looking at historical data in the field for example the Psion Workabout Pro.

Collecting the data is of course only the first step and without the ability to analyse and report on the collected data to provide management information EID is of course useless. FarmIT 3000 provides this with a whole range of reports and analysis tools designed specifically to process the data collected. It also provides import and export routines to enable the data to be sent to or received from third parties, for example for EBV analysis or Genetic blood tests.

Once analysis is over, you also need to be able to get that list of sheep to cull, or more positively breed the champions from. This may be more difficult than you think however again the EID reader has a part to play.

"Remember EID is a tool to aid the identification of the animal and allow the recording of information electronically. If you compare it to collecting the information on paper it is a great improvement and will save considerable time. In short if you want the management information then EID will help you collect it, the recording and analysis is down to the software package."