NLIS and eID recap – Livestock agents and support staff

Okay, good morning everyone and welcome to our NLIS and EID recap. I'm for livestock agents and support staff. I'm Jodie Rose O'Brien and I'm one of the EID team. So our speakers today um are Tara Vandeleur um who's NLIS officer with um with PIRSA and Denise Rendell who's the senior NLIS um officer with the Department of Primary Industries. At this time, I'll hand over to Tara. Thanks, Tara. >> Uh thanks, Jodie, and good morning to everyone listening. Uh today's webinar is a recap on much of the information that we've been through before. There's nothing really alarmingly uh new to give you today, just a reminder of both your and your clients' responsibilities in the new EID sheep and goat system, as well as as a few little extra bits of information that we might feel um that are helpful. In general, the transition to sheep and goat EID is rolling along well. There's obviously been a few little teething issues here and there as the industry adjusts to the new way in which we um hope to trace sheep and goats through the supply chain, which is to be expected, but in general, the transition has been pretty smooth. So, we're all familiar now with the South Australia's EID implementation timeline, which you can see here. At this point, we've implemented all but one key tagging and scanning commencement date milestones. So, at this point in time, we have all parties along the supply chain scanning and recording all EID movements. That's no matter where or why the animals are moving, so that's including P2P movements, saleyard movements, moving to processes, on-farm auctions, and shows and events, etc., etc. Uh from January of last year, as you knew, all sheep and farm goats born on or after that date have needed to be EID tagged before leaving the property of birth. So, 2026 brings uh us to the second year of having the entire year's drop EID tags. The final milestone is coming up on 1 Jan 2027, January next year, where all sheep and farm goats moving anywhere must be identified with an NLIS accredited EID tag before leaving the property. That's regardless of age or destination. And I'll talk a little bit more about this and the double tagging issue becomes more relevant in a later slide. So, firstly, EID tagging. So, at risk of repeating myself again, after 1 Jan of next year, all sheep and farm goats need an accredited EID tag before moving off the property. It doesn't matter how old the animals are, what year they were born, or where they're moving. So, that's including moving older sheep direct to slaughter. Everything needs an EID tag when moving off the property. Some reminders about NLIS EID tags. EID tags must be NLIS accredited, and all accredited tags have that NLIS logo printed on the outside of the tag, so that they're easily identifiable. >> [gasps] >> All NLIS accredited tags have gone through the strict 3-year accreditation process, which tests retention and readability to make sure they're suitable for the Australian conditions. However, correct application, we know, which includes placement, hygiene, and using the correct applicator, is critical for tag retention. So, our advice continues to be for producers to follow manufacturers' recommendations. If producers or your clients are having retention issues, these can be directed to ISC, Integrity Systems Company, or the tag manufacturer, or rural reseller. Just a reminder that only NLIS accredited tags are actually registered to the NLIS database and are traceable through the NLIS system. So, the non-accredited EID tags, which have been um in the system in uh in the past, used in the past for on-farm management purposes, they're not NLIS accredited, and they're not registered to that database, so they have no traceability benefit. A reminder that EID tags are also species-specific, so it doesn't hurt to remind producers to make it really clear when they're ordering tags, um if they want sheep tags, that they be clear that they want sheep tags, and similarly with goat tags, and they might tag them accordingly. Particularly um important for producers that might be running both sheep and goats on the same property, it's important to know which are your sheep tags and which are your goat tags, and obviously apply them to the correct species. The tag colors seem to still be causing a little bit of confusion here and there, so again, only the eight colors in the year of birth system are NLIS accredited and registered to the producers pick on the database, and therefore traceable. However, um following the year colors in that set sequence is voluntary in South Australia. Other colors that might have been available for for visual tags, such as brown or gray or dark green, are not year of birth colors, they're not NLIS accredited, and therefore they're not registered to the NLIS database, and not traceable through the NLIS. So again, you need to pick Producers need to pick uh one of the eight colors, but but following the sequence isn't necessary. The pink color is only for post-breeder tags. And just to remind you that leftover EID tags can be used in any other following year. With the final tagging milestone coming 1 Jan next year, it brings with it the double tagging issue, and there's some potential confusions that we're hearing about. So again, from 1 Jan next year, all animals that have uh had a visual NLIS tag must be re-tagged with an additional NLIS accredited EID tag before leaving the property. The majority of these will be those older animals that were born prior to 1 Jan 2025 that were originally tagged with a visual NLIS tag, which was the the requirement at that time. These animals will be tagged with either need to be tagged with either a breeder EID tag or a post breeder EID tag depending on the circumstance of that animal before leaving the property. So, there's no need for producers to rush around on the 1st of January and make sure everything's tagged on their property. The requirement only is is only required when those animals are leaving the property. Visual tags shouldn't be removed moved when applying that additional EID tag. However, sheep and goats must only be tagged with one EID device. So, non-NLIS accredited EID tags, those management EID tags that some producers have been using in the past, must be removed from the animal when applying that accredited EID tag. Lastly, on tags, the tag discount and rebate is still available to producers. So, it's this is the rebate and discount continues at 25% of the cost of the tag up to 47.5 cents. So, the point of sale discount applies to tags purchased in the current year of birth color. So, this year is orange and next next year is green. The tag rebate is available for NLIS accredited EID tags purchased outside of the current year of birth color. This is available until June 30 2027 of next year and producers might need just a little reminder to keep utilizing this. Post pink post breeder tags are also eligible for the rebate for producers and we encourage producers to have a supply of pink post breeder tags on hand to apply if any non-vendor bred animals lose their breeder devices in the in the future on their property. So, from tags we're moving to um scanning and reporting obligations. >> [sighs] >> Uh you've hopefully seen this schematic before. It outlines who along the supply chain holds the legal responsibility for the scanning and recording of ERD tag sheep and goat movements through the system depending on the circumstance movement. It's particularly designed to help producers understand the times in which they must carry out that scanning and recording obligation. As you can see with the big red hand, you as agents only have that one scenario where you hold the legal responsibility to scan and record. This being when conducting on-farm public auctions. These are ram sales, on-farm clearing sales, and so on. However, we do know that you do end up doing a lot more than this, often taking on the responsibility of carrying out P2P movements on behalf of your clients. So, P2P movements in this diagram are those that are indicated by the little red hands. So, they are the online auctions, the adjustment movements, the movements between properties with different PICs, which of course include moving between properties with different PICs that are owned by the same producer. So, they're the three types of movements that we class as P2P. And they are the responsibility of the producer, but as we know producers while may misunderstand these responsibilities. And there's pos- possibly a couple of reasons for this misunderstanding. Firstly, many assume as you would well know that their agents have the legal responsibility um because they've facilitated the transaction for example, automatically thinking that you have done this as as part of your um as part of your role. Uh and this is also evident when producers buy online. And secondly, there's also a from producers who own multiple peaks um and multiple properties and not realizing that they need a scan and record movements when moving animals between those properties that they own. So, we really encourage you to be really clear with your your clients whether you will or you won't be assisting them with any P2P movements. And for those that want it, this schematic or diagram and the supporting information that goes with it can be downloaded from the producer ID page if you or you or your clients want it or we can send out some hard copies if you like. So, following on with ram season approaching again, a few on farm auction selling reminders. So, all sheep and farm goats with an EID device must be scanned and recorded. Rams sold this year should be all tagged with an EID tag if they are 2025 drop rams, of course. This must be carried out out as a livestock move non-written authority individual function on the database. On farm auctions must be uploaded to the database within the two days of the sale, which is the the national expectation. And buyers might need to be reminded that they don't need to apply their own EID tag to their purchased rams when they bring their rams home. So, again, the message is one EID device for life. So, we've as we've touched on agents often take on the scanning and recording obligations on behalf of your clients as part of your service, especially those P2P movements that you're involved in. Again, this isn't your legal responsibility, but as we know, producers often misunderstand this. So, again, we just encourage you to be really clear about whether you will or you won't be taking on that role. And if you are going to take on the P2P responsibility of of of scanning and recording, it's great and and ideal to put that in writing. The NLIS database function that you record This is the livestock move non-written authority individual function on the database and again that needs to be done within two uh two days. You might also occasionally help your local show or field day with their scanning and recording um of their events. And if you are helping out with this, it needs to be recorded as a sighted livestock movement via the showgrounds in NLIS database account. A few points um on agent PICs. So, animals can only be transferred to an agent PIC on the database if the destination PIC is unknown at the point of sale by saleyards only in a saleyards setting only, meaning um they must be transferred to the agent PIC by the saleyard operator. Animals must then be transferred to the correct buyer's destination PIC on the database within two days. So, they shouldn't be sitting on your current holdings for longer than two days. Livestock can't be transferred from an agent PIC to another agent PIC or a saleyard PIC or an abattoir PIC. And agent PICs are not permitted to be used as a interim PIC between property to property movements. So, I just a quick slide on agents working in saleyards. And by this I mean that the agents working within a saleyard that are managed by saleyard operators such as Dublin and and Naracoorte, for example. I'm not talking about sales where agents um are actually conducting the sales or acting as a saleyard operator themselves. So, agents um Livestock agents facilitating the sale of sheep and goats at a multi-vendor sale um must ensure that animals are firstly correctly identified and secondly traceable to the PIC of consignment. And the PIC of consignment is the PIC printed on the NVD or the ENBD. Sheep with missing tags must be tagged with saleyard post-breeder tags. Vendors or their agents can't have a spare supplier or an emergency supply of producer devices sent in with the animals or stats stored at the saleyard. Permits can be obtained, however, to move sheep and farm goats untagged. So, these animals will be need to be tagged at the saleyard with saleyard tags, and any cost will be charged to the vendor at the saleyard's discretion. Um completed movement docs, including the NVD or ENVD, must be provided by the vendor before the sale of the animals. And before the end of sale day, saleyards Sorry, agents in saleyards must provide the saleyard operator with the device numbers or the RFID numbers, the consigning PIC, and the destination PIC. Quick reminder on movement documents, all sheep and all sheep movements to a different PIC must have a national sheep health declaration, and a movement documenta- movement document. The national goat health document is voluntary. The most common movement document is the NVD or the ENVD. And we just continue to remind producers who might be a little bit confused that ENVDs don't automatically record the movement of the animals on the database. They still need to be uploaded to the database by the responsible party. So, again, there are rebates available to support producers purchasing scanning equipment to carry out those legal responsibilities. And as we've touched on, the movements that producers are responsible for legally are those P2P sheep and goat movements. The main reminder here is is the rebate closes June 30 of this year, so really only in a couple of weeks. So, if you have clients that are eligible for the rebate and are tossing up whether to buy scanning equipment or they just haven't got around to applying it, please remind them that that they need to get their applications submitted by this date of June 30. Lastly, a little bit on compliance. Um the implementation of sheep and goat EID is now pretty well advanced. Producers, agents, and other supply chain partici- participants have had tagging and scanning and recording obligations in place for approximately 18 months now. So, we are now increasingly moving from that education phase to more of that enforcement phase. Um so, producers will be ramping up compliance activities, led of course with reasonable common sense. Um EID is written into legislation, so these are legal obligations. It's not a voluntary system, and everyone in the livestock industry expects the system to be working as as it's intended. Um so, the system does need to have a compliance backing to give it kind of some validity and some some rigor. So, saying this, producers officers are not going to be hiding um behind bushes what are jumping out waiting to nab people. However, we do need to be able to deal with non-compliance, particularly that large and intentional non-compliance. Otherwise, the money that we've all put in and the effort to implement this system is effectively wasted. So, we've got here um some key contacts that you um or your clients might like to call upon for support. So, the NLIS database helpline, both the phone [snorts] and the email that's listed there are great first contact points for any database issues. We also have a a bunch of fact sheets and videos and general information on our producers sheep and goat webpage, including information about those rebates and how to apply. Um both Denise Rendell and my contact details are also listed here, so uh if you need any clarification about your responsibilities or if you haven't had any luck um with the information um from from other sources, then we're very happy to um give us a call or shoot us an email. So, from here um we I will pass back to Jodie. >> All right. So, we had some great questions um submitted at registration and we'll go through those. So, questions question The first question, I might pose that to Denise who's online. Denise, tagging of older sheep um and what rebates are available for producers? >> Thanks, Jodie. Um as far as older sheep go, um if they need to be tagged, if they're born if they are born on the property, then they need to be tagged with a breeder tag, so any one of those eight um breeder tag colors. And if they were um not born on the property, then they get a pink post-breeder tag. So, that needs to be done from at least 1 January 2027 before they leave the property. Um in terms of rebates, as Tara stated, the the tag rebates and the um point of sale is still going to be operating until the 30th of June 2027 and producers will be eligible for 47 and a half cents per tag. >> Thank you. Next question. Um Ta- Tara, put this one to you. A producer has leftover tags. That's a perfect segue from the previous one. Can they be used on older or other sheep and farmed goats? >> Yeah. Okay, thanks, Jodie. Um look, the simple answer to this is yes, as long as the tags are NLIS accredited EID tags, they can be used um at any point of time in the future. They must be correct, however, for the species being used, meaning that if they're leftover sheep breeder tags, they must only be applied to sheep um on your property in in future years. So, if you're not concerned about keeping strictly to the year of birth color system, leftover tags can be used in any year, including older sheep when they move off property post 1 Jan 2027. >> Thank you. Next question, I'll put this one to you, Denise. Um what's the accepted scanning rate at saleyards? An oldie but a goodie. >> Yes, it is. Look, the expectation is that all of the sheep and goats that come into a saleyard are identified with the appropriate um NLIS device. So, at the moment we're in a transition still. We still have animals that can come in with visual tags. Uh and also, of course, anything born last year or if it comes in from a Victorian property, must all have electronic ID tags. So, yeah, as I said, everything must come in with a a tag. In terms of scanning, the scanners themselves are actually working extremely efficiently, and we commonly see for consignments that 100% of all of the the tags are being scanned. But, at minimum, we expect 98% of the tags EID tags to be scanned. >> Thank you. Next question, one to you, Tyra. Um and this is one similar to what I've had just in the last week. A producer owns station and inside country. What are their responsibilities? >> Okay. Well, if a producer owns more than one property and they have different property identification codes, which they probably would be in this type of scenario, then the movements of animals between those properties must be recorded on the NLIS database. So, those animals do need to be scanned and recorded. Um this is considered just another type of that P2P movement. Um so, in this example, if a producer has um or is moving sheep or farm goats down from their station country to their to their sudden southern block, for example, and again those properties have different PICs, then the animals must be scanned and recorded on the NLIS database within the two days of arrival onto the onto the to the inside country um PIC. Um Uh and the animals must also have correct movement documentation. So, even though they're uh moving between properties owned by the same um producer, they still need to be accompanied by the sheep um health declaration and um an NVD or ENVD or alternate waybill. >> Thank you. Um common one where people own two blocks. Thanks. Denise, another one for you. Can producers get pre-approval for the equipment rebate? >> It's not necessary to get pre-approval. Um producers, though, um really do need to read the guidelines and make sure at what um level they they can claim for the rebate, but they um the main thing is that they do provide us with proof that they have actually purchased the equipment since the uh the 8th of June, 2023. Um to be eligible for the rebate. Uh but as stated earlier, we they really need to get moving um to put their application in because applications do close on the 30th of June, 2026. >> Thank you, and we'll pop Julie's details back up at the end. Um if you've got any queries from half of producers, please contact Julie in regard to that. Next question. Tag issues. Another oldie but a goodie. Um producers have reported tags failing for various reasons. What do they need to do? You touched on that earlier, Tara. I'll put that one to you. >> Sure, yeah. As I said earlier, all NLIS accredited EID tags have gone through that um accreditation process to ensure that they are suitable for the job. However, if your clients or producers are having some retention or other tag-related issues despite following tagging placement hygiene um technique as if they're um still using the correct applicator and still having issues, then producers can lodge a complaint with either Integrity Systems Company, ISC, or their tag manufacturer or rural reseller. We have actually um a couple of links here that might be useful, and we'll send these around when we send around the recording. The first is the um fact sheet helping people choose the correct um device for their particular circumstance and their animals. And the second link is the actual um device complaint form. So, again, we'll we'll send around these links um and that you might like to distribute these to your producers, especially those ones that you've heard who are having um ongoing tag retention or tag issues. >> Thanks, Tara. Um that's all the questions I've got. I just want to um, highlight the EID program has um, produced a number of case studies both on goats, farm goats and sheep. They range um, from the southeast to the Mallee to Eyre Peninsula um, on how producers are using EID in their enterprises. These are available on the PIRSA website. They're also available in hard copy. Um, what would I would do is I'll send you the link to those when we send out the recording from today. But yeah, those case studies are available and there's a couple more um, coming as well. They're still being still being developed. So, there'll be 10 in total. So, yep, jump on the PIRSA website um, or catch up with one of us and we can give you some hard copies of those if you would like some. Just um, as a reminder as Tyra said, these are people's details. Um, Tyra and Denise in relation to NLIS. Um, just some if you've got any general inquiries, please direct them to me. If they're NLIS related, I will send them back to Tyra and Denise. So, they're the experts in that space. As I said, if you've got queries about the rebate, please contact Julie Weatherburn. Her details are there. Um, they've also put up the details of our PIRSA EID website, Integrity um, Systems company. And I'd also like to remind people that um, the database help for NLIS is available um, yeah, and that they've got great hours. So, please contact them if you've got any issues. Um, we thank you for your time this morning. Um, hopefully that recap has been useful to you. If you do have other queries, please reach out to one of us. We're more than happy um, to help you with those. Or if clients have got issues, please reach out um, and thank you so much for joining us. Have a lovely day.