The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is one of the cornerstones of UK government policy to help agriculture to become more productive – producing more whilst minimising environmental impact. The Countryside Productivity Scheme 2015 is part of the RDPE and 2015 grant funding … Continue reading →
Mark for Move There is the ‘Mark for Move’ function which is a way of preselecting animals to a list, which you intend will leave the holding but, it’s not absolutely known. The ‘Mark for Move’ list, when you synchronise … Continue reading →
The EID stick reader (also known as a “wand” reader) is the simplest type of device for reading electronic sheep tags. You might have seen them in use at livestock markets and smaller abattoirs. They’re pretty handy for recording lists … Continue reading →
As the computer world gets more mobile, you might be thinking of how you can put mobile computing to use for your livestock enterprise. A mobile device needs an operating system, in the same way that a desktop computer needs … Continue reading →
Whether it be dairy heifers, prime lambs or finishing cattle, there are still many farms that rely only on stockmanship skills and “guesstimates” when selecting fat lambs or finished cattle. Many dairy farmers also rely on visuals alone when rearing heifers to calve … Continue reading →
We’ve been through the era of desktop computing with a Windows PC. More and more, people want to use mobile devices to access personal and business data. The new era of mobile computing is firmly established. Just like old farm … Continue reading →
DEFRA have published data and statistics from Cross Compliance inspections for 2013; this includes the reasons for the most the most common breaches. With cattle, 52% of selected cross compliance inspections failed. With sheep, 18% of selected cross compliance inspections … Continue reading →
Electronic identification (EID) can be a bewildering prospect for farmers who haven’t previously used technology to help run their sheep enterprise. However, with some careful research and planning, it’s possible to tailor a system that has benefits for any size … Continue reading →
The 1st January 2015 is moving ever closer. If you need a concise reminder of the changes to the sheep identification and recording rules for England, have a look at this leaflet from South Western who manage the ARAMS database for DEFRA. … Continue reading →
Electronic identification for the UK sheep industry is here to stay. There are signs that farmers are starting to investigate how they can use this technology to their advantage, but they need help to make the right decisions for their … Continue reading →