OSPRI acting chief executive Stu Hutchings said the workshops aimed to help new users of the NAIT system and those needing a refresher course.
“The NAIT programme is critical to biosecurity and market access. To be effective, we need all cattle and deer tagged and registered with NAIT as well as up-to-date data on their location and movements,” Hutchings said.
The workshops provide people with a guided tour on how to register animals, record the sending and receiving of stock and update animal details in NAIT’s online system.
“Accurate NAIT data can be used to contain potential animal diseases, provide food safety assurance to international and domestic markets and add value to farming businesses.
“Being able to trace animal movements on and off-farm is already proving invaluable when it comes to containing bovine tuberculosis herd infections and identifying the source of the disease.”
The workshops give farmers a forum to ask questions before July 1, when all cattle must be tagged and registered in the NAIT database including animals born before NAIT became mandatory in 2012.
Forty-two workshops have been scheduled nationwide. Each workshop is limited to 20 people to cater for the needs and questions of all participants.
