Mullinahone Co-op has launched two new Allflex EID tags for sheep for 2019. The QUIK-EID is a slaughter tag for use with lambs going directly from birth farm to factory. The tags cost 95c each including VAT.

The co-op has also launched the new Bubble Gum EID tag set for breeding/mart animals. The name comes from the soft surface feel of the rubber used in the tags. These are sold in strips of 10 and the strip can be used in two ways. It can serve as an EID/visual tag set for five sheep or it can be ordered to provide EID slaughter tags for 10 animals.

Price for the Bubble Gum strips is not yet set but, the co-op says, it will be competitive. These tags are popular with breeding flocks in the UK. Meanwhile, Mullinahone Co-op continues to offer its existing EID button tags, as before.

The switch to EID for sheep will increase farmer interest in readers. Mullinahone offers the LPR pocket readers. One model comes at €250 and works with an app on a smartphone. But its range of readers is set to rise. Earlier this year, Allflex purchased German firm Agrident which, it says, is a leading developer of EID readers. The purchase means that Allflex will soon be offering a wider range of readers, both handheld and fixed.

Mullinahone Co-op, which is 125 years old this year, employs 25 staff in its tags operation. It has made further investment in printing and coding capacity to deal with sheep EID.