IT IS understandable that if UK farmers are to continue to receive agreed EU support payments until Brexit becomes a reality, then the rules as they stand must be adhered to, no matter how ridiculous some are.
But the one thing our governments in Holyrood and Westminster must not do is impose even more red tape and use the EU as an excuse.
There may be perfectly valid reasons as to why the Scottish Government wish to impose a scheme to replace the existing linked holding rules, but surely a deal can be done with Brussels which allows the status quo to continue.
Indeed, the Scottish and UK governments should surely be collaborating to come up with a country-wide scheme for the future which eliminates individual passports for bovines, at a time when great threats to the country's health and security come not from un-passported animals, but from humans.
There is absolutely no need for each individual cattle beast to have a passport. If sheep can be traced through an electronic tagging system, then a similar regime for cattle must be a priority.
Indeed, cattle tracing should have been at the forefront of this technology and not, to pardon the pun, be at the coo's tail.
Brexit gives a fresh opportunity to look how we do a whole host of things, and farm animal identification should be a priority for simplification.
For starter, we require a system that does not require individual identification, paper or electronic, until that cattle beast or sheep leaves the breeders' premises, linked or otherwise!