THE Victorian Farmers Federation is encouraging livestock producers to boost their understanding of sheep and goat electronic identification tags by attending a series workshops being run across the Wimmera, Mallee and French Island by the State Government.
The 2-hour workshops are being run over the next two weeks at:
Swan Hill: The Grain Shed Church of Christ, Wednesday February 8, from 10am
Tankerton: French island War Memorial Hall, Wednesday February 8, from 11am
Ouyen: Ouyen Football Clubrooms, Thursday February 9, from 12pm
Horsham: Horsham DEDJTR, Monday February 13, from 10am
Edenhope: Edenhope Football/Netball Clubrooms, Tuesday February 14, from 10am
Kaniva: Kaniva Hall, Wednesday February 15, from 10am
“These workshops are a good opportunity for producers to get a grasp on the support available during the transition period as we move from a visual tag system to eIDs,” VFF Livestock President Leonard Vallance said.
“The point of the workshops is to dispel rumours and myths concerning the scheme because we want producers to know the eID tags are cost neutral due to the Government’s investment”
“The clear message to producers must be that the only change to on-farm practice is the change of the ear tag to eID.
“All other practices relating to on farm management and production are at the discretion of the producer if they see benefit to their own business.”
Detailed information on the Government’s eID transition package (including cost-neutral tags for producers, grants for purchasing infrastructure) will form a large part of the information sessions.