A national animal traceability scheme is “a necessary evil”, says the head of the country’s largest meat company.

Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith Cooper says National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) is “our passport to market and I am very pleased to see it launched”.

However, Federated Farmers continues to oppose the scheme and claims no export market is demanding animal traceability as part of entry criteria for New Zealand meat.

The Government has given the go-ahead for NAIT following a drawn-out consultation process with stakeholders. It will be compulsory for cattle farmers from October 2011 and for deer farmers a year later.

The NAIT system’s annual operating costs will be $6 million and will be funded by MAF and through levy contributions from cattle and deer farmers.

The main cost to farmers will be NAIT-compliant ear tags – about $2-$3 more than non-electronic ear tags. MWNZ chairman Mike Petersen says its priority has been to ensure that the traceability system is affordable for farmers and the wider industry.

“The cost-benefit analysis presented in the business case showed the benefits far outweighed the costs,” says Petersen.

“Most of the major beef trading nations around the world already have animal ID systems in place and if we don’t keep up, our trade might be compromised,” he says.

“This has been a compelling driver for us, but so too has been making sure we get a system in place that farmers can afford.”

But Federated Farmers biosecurity spokesman Lachlan McKenzie believes the business case fails to provide “sufficient confidence that real on-farm value will be generated as a result of NAIT”.

“Moreover, at a time when farmers are just recovering financially, this will add an additional cost and compliance burden alongside the Emissions Trading Scheme and early proposals for a Land Tax,” says McKenzie.

He says linking biosecurity to NAIT is “an illusion”.

“If the Government truly believes in a biosecurity basis to NAIT, then the Government must disclose to New Zealand’s hard-pressed sheep farmers that it intends to enrol all cloven hoof animals into the NAIT scheme and when.

“If it does not, it confirms the biosecurity basis to NAIT is without merit.”

McKenzie says the federation has verified with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade that “at this time, no country is requiring the NAIT concept as part of entry criteria for New Zealand beef, lamb or venison”.

Agriculture Minister David Carter says NAIT is about future-proofing New Zealand agriculture.

“The Government is satisfied that there is a strong business case for the scheme and that its benefits far outweigh its costs.”

The Government will provide funding to build and operate the new system and draw up legislation to make it compulsory for cattle and deer farmers.