IT IS time for the Scottish cattle farmers to step up to the plate and back moves to increase the use of electronic identification in their sector, a leading trade body has said.

The benefits of using EID systems for livestock management were debated at the annual conference of the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland, held in Aviemore, where president Scott Donaldson said: "Electronic identification systems are a vital step for farming, bringing huge benefits to the industry and wider rural economy while maximising returns for farmers.

"IAAS fully support EID implementation as a key part of cementing the auction system as the best place to get a fair price. This is an issue which England is lagging on, and we hope Scotland will continue to lead rather than delay with implementation."

The conference heard from Robert Marshall, of Kincraigie farm, Banchory, who has been using EID on his stock for years. Said Mr Marshall: "We've been using EID for over 20 years because it makes good business sense. This was a decision we took ourselves because EID makes life easier, and is the way forward for the industry."

NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick, who chairs the Scottish Bovine EID Stakeholder Group, commented: “Positive progress has been made in recent months with the Scottish Government agreeing to support an industry pilot on the wider use of cattle EID. This has been achieved by industry bodies including NFU Scotland and IAAS working together to the common benefit of the sector.

"The Scottish Bovine EID Stakeholder Group was meant to meet last Friday (March 2) but this meeting unfortunately had to be called off because of the extreme weather conditions and we are hoping to reschedule this meeting soon," he noted.

“It is good news that IAAS members and other stakeholders were able to discuss the need for wider-use of EID at their recent conference in Aviemore to identify some of the clear benefits that can be gained through the technology. Any insights that might have been gleaned in these discussions will be a welcome contribution to further developing the joint industry position which we are all working towards.”