Sheep management using electronic identification

There is a wide range of data that can be collected using eID which will be useful to producers in managing their business.

Carcase tracking and processing feedback

The capability of eID equipment has significantly improved in recent years.

A number of Victorian, and Western Australian processors are in the process of installing the required infrastructure to capture individual carcase data, including animal health data. Processors are working towards being able to supply individual carcase data in the future.

Systems such as hook tracking, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and other technologies, including hyperspectral cameras, will provide more accurate and in-depth carcase data with respect to meat eating quality and physical carcase traits (e.g. weight and fat depth).

By relating live animal management with carcase measures, producers can improve on-farm management to meet market demand.

Processors will also have a record of management and health data for each carcase, which helps their marketing and consumers will have information and traceability to individual producers. This is increasingly expected by modern consumers.

Producers should base the decision to use eID as a management tool on cost compared to advantages. Remember that not all advantages are directly financial.

The data need should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART).

Monitoring live-weights with eID-assisted walk over weighers is probably the simplest advantage that can give significant benefits as outlined in the ‘using eID to your advantage’ table.

A more complicated example is 'I want to mark 145% lambs, turning off 21 kilogram (kg) carcases by 6 months of age, maintaining moderate mature ewe weights under an average of 70 kg, and running a stocking rate of 14 dry sheep equivalents (DSE)/ hectare, all by 2022.'

To achieve the business and breeding objective you need to determine:

• What trait, treatment, or measurement needs to be collected?
• Is it already collected?
• What eID equipment would be needed to collect it and how much would it cost?
• Could a contractor do the task?

eID equipment

Obtain independent advice about eID equipment before purchasing and have a realistic expectations of equipment capability.

You may be able to hire equipment for sporadic use or employ a contractor with the equipment. As you become familiar with the technology and the opportunities, you can invest more.

Managing the collected data

To collate and analyse the data collected, you will need computer software. Simple tasks can use common software options such as Microsoft Excel.

Use software developed specifically for managing livestock data for more complete and reliable data management. An internet search on 'eID data management software' will find many of the options available. Many consultants also specialise in eID data management and can be utilised for data analysis

Cost benefit

Most of the economic benefits of using eID are based on improved decision-making and improved management. However, there are some direct labour savings in collecting data.

Cost: benefit labour-saving

If looking simply at the labour saving achieved for a single task, the table below illustrates the differences in labour cost associated with recording individual live weights using visual tags, as opposed to eID tags.

Cost comparison of using visual and RFID (eID) tags for recording live weights of individual animals (Sheep CRC 2006)

Cost: benefit extra productivity

The cost: benefit was calculated from the extra productivity required per ewe to achieve a 3:1 return on the cost of the equipment, assuming a 10-year equipment lifespan, and not factoring in opportunity cost, finance cost or a cost differential between EID and visual tags.

For example, if a producer running 2,000 ewes was to invest in $6,000 worth of EID equipment, then the extra productivity that would need to be achieved per ewe to produce a 3:1 return on investment in equipment would be $0.90 per ewe.

If that same producer were running a prime lamb operation, then with lamb prices at $4.50/kg, the producer would need to increase productivity per ewe by 0.2 kg of carcase weight. If the same concept were applied to a wool production enterprise assuming a wool price of $12/kg clean, the producer would need to increase wool production by 0.07 kg clean or about 0.11 kg of greasy wool per ewe.

Tahara, a property near Wagin in the Great Southern region of WA, is a farm with approximately 4,000 Dohne ewes. They started using eID in 2014 and have since benefited from increased lambing.

Before implementing eID, the farm had been pregnancy scanning. In 2014, they invested in a fully automatic sheep handler on the farm, enabling automatic weighing, three-stage drafting, and eID reading. They also purchased a stick reader.

• the total cost was around $40,000.
• eID tags were initially acquired only for ewe lambs, costing approximately $1.40 each. The tags are currently $1.90, and with the 75-cent subsidy, will be $1.15.

Was eID worth it?

• The investment of $40,200 yielded a positive net present value (NPV) of $121,000 over a decade
• For every dollar invested, the return was $4
• Payback of investment occurred in the fifth year
• If eID ear tags had been used for all lambs, the NPV would have $110,000, with a benefit-cost ratio of $3.70 for each dollar invested.

Tahara’s emphasis on lambing rates resulted in:

• a doubling of the improvement rate, from a 2.5% annual increase to 5.1%, after eID adoption.
• raised lambing from 97% pre-eID to 138% in 2022 from a combination of improved management and monitoring assisted by eID.