Scottish beef industry plans to transition from the Cattle Tracing System to ScotEID have been postponed until the end of November.
The decision was announced by Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon who said it was due to the impact Covid-19 was having on some third party software providers and the farming community.
“The end of November date will mean the autumn calving period and the main cattle sales will both be finished and there will be the minimum number of births and movements being registered on the system,” she said.
“We will continue to monitor the timings and the impact of Covid-19. If November is no longer an option the next suitable go-live date would be the end of January 2021.”
NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick, who chairs the Scottish Bovine EID Stakeholder Group, said the delay was not a surprise.
“Industry stakeholders are keen to see progress made toward fully traceable cattle EID in Scotland but the transition must be managed sensibly, facilitated by ScotEID,” he said.
“This delay will allow ScotEID to work with third-party farm software providers to ensure they are ready for transition in November 2020, and that should be welcomed by all in the beef supply chain.”
