Ear tag numbers set to change in Northern Ireland

Farmers in Northern Ireland are being warned not to overbuy ear tags for their livestock, following an announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) that the prefix code is set to change from “UK” to “XI” at the end of the year.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has complained that the change, taking effect from 1 January 2025, has come “out of the blue”, without consultation.

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It understands the new tags will be available to buy later this year for immediate use, so farmers should bear that in mind when placing new orders.

UFU deputy president John McLenaghan said: “According to Daera, it [the change] is a legal requirement under EU animal health law and is necessary to allow NI unfettered access to the EU market.”

While accepting that such access to the EU single market is essential, the UFU is adamant that any change in ear tag prefixes must not jeopardise access to the premium GB market, where a UK prefix will still be used.

“There is no guarantee that UK livestock tags can be used from 1 January 2025, so farmers are being urged not to overbuy UK tags due to the uncertainty,” said Mr McLenaghan.

“The lack of assurance has the potential to cause issues for a lot of farmers, as many are already spring-calving and have purchased UK tags.”

The UFU says sufficient lead time needs to be given “so our members can use up all the UK tags that they have already bought”.