Rural Payments and Services

The second tagging selection for calves born in 2016 has now been made and the selection includes any bulls which need to be tissue tagged.

If you have been selected, the list of animals selected for your business will be loaded onto the BES pages of your ScotEID.

Tag kits will be sent directly from Neogen, the laboratory that will be processing the tissues samples, and will include tags, a tagger (if required), return packaging, an instruction leaflet for the use of the tags, a Frequently Asked Questions document, and a submission form that is to be returned to the lab with the samples.

The laboratory will begin issuing tags from next week, and will be sending them out in batches as they are prepared.

The return deadline for the tissue samples is 30 June 2017. However, we would ask that you return the samples to the lab as quickly as possible after they have been taken.

Some of the animals selected may have been born in the first half of 2016.

If an animal on your selection has died or has been sold since then, please mark the reason it has not been tagged on the submission form and additional animals will be selected in future tagging rounds.

If an animal that has been selected is still on your holding when you receive the tags they must be tissue tagged and the sample returned to the lab.

Some businesses will have opted to tag 100 per cent of their calves.

If you receive tags from the laboratory even though you have tagged 100 per cent yourself, please don’t be alarmed.

If this happens you do not have to tag the calves again.

The tags from the lab should be destroyed in an appropriate manner, and please remember that these tags cannot be used as official ID tags.

If you have any queries please contact the Beef Efficiency Scheme BESMailbox