Electronic sheep tags meet a cold reception

The extension of electronic identification (EID) to sheep by the Department of Agriculture has gone down “like a lead balloon” with farmers at the marts and factories, said IFA national sheep chairman Sean Dennehy.

Mr Dennehy said Minister Michael Creed’s decision to impose compulsory EID tagging on farmers at a high cost has been exposed badly this week, with most farmers still having to write dispatch dockets in the same way as before in order to go to marts and factories.