Price quotes for cattle and sheep identification tags are broadly unchanged from last spring, making ear tags one of few inputs to escape inflation over the last 12 months.

For cattle, price quotes on an order of 50 Afflex tags start around £4.60 plus VAT to include a tissue tag and secondary identification set.

A larger order on a run of 100 tags starts around £4.15 plus VAT from the same manufacturer, with replacements costing £4 plus VAT.

There is no price difference between two flags or a flag and button set.

Price quotes for Caisley tags start around £4.80 plus VAT on a run of 50 tags, reducing to £4.70 for an order of 100 tags although there are deals to be had via promotional offers.

Replacement tags cost £3.25 plus VAT. Again, there is no difference between a double flag set and a flag and button combination.

Cattle tags from Datamars are in the region of £5.60 to £5.80 plus VAT based on online quotes for its flagship Z tag product range.

While this initially appears more expensive than competitors, the company offers free replacement tags.

Quotes on Shearwell cattle tags start from £5.25 plus VAT for 50 sets with free replacement tags on the lifetime of an animal.

Sheep

Price quotes for sheep tags are also similar to last year.

There is little difference between suppliers with fold-over EID tags ranging from 80p to 90p each.

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