Enthusiast spreads message on electronic tagging

Jim Turvill, a farmer and information technology specialist from Exeter, was demonstrating the robustness of the machine that could make the difference, yesterday, by operating it in a bucket of water.

With the help of European funding, Mr Turvill has worked for some years with the Duchy College, the Cornish agricultural college, on ways of applying Electronic ID, which is now compulsory for sheep. Many farmers think it is pointless bureaucracy, however.

Cornish farmers have been test-running the end result of Mr Turvill's work – a hand-held computer, made in New Zealand, loaded with his software and designed to be operated with one thumb most of the time, which will pick up EID information from a portable eartag reader and enable the farmer to add to it as he works - keying in numbers of lambs showing on a scan, health information, weight gains and so on. All information is stored on a removable card, like a camera memory card. Slaughter information can be taken off email to complete an animal's record.

The device is on its first outing at an agricultural show this week, on a stand in the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Innovations tent, hired by Yorkshire-based animal ID specialist, Agriflex, of Tockwith, which aims to become the main agent for it.

Agriflex MD David Allamby said orders were already coming in from big flock managers and also from cattle vets, who saw it as a useful tool for creating individualised records of TB tests.

Equipped with Mr Turvill's software for a range of routine livestock management tasks, the machine will sell at around 500. So far, it is set up to work with two common tag readers, the Gallagher and the PT280, but may be adapted for more later.

Mr Turvill said: "If you want to make use of electronic tags, rather than just regarding them as an extra burden, this is a very useful tool."

For further details see www.agriflex.co.uk or call 0845 1996727.