"Data is like garbage. You’d better know what you are going to do with it before you collect it." ~ Mark Twain
G'day Scott!
As I'm sure you're aware, mandatory eID tags are coming very soon!
Since you'll have them, you might as well use them to collect data that will assist in improving your flock.
I've already urged you in previous articles to collect pregnancy status and birth type.
When you first start, managing data is simple. However, after a couple of years, you start adding different age groups together. You start losing a couple of tags. You start scoring another trait that you think will be helpful. Suddenly, all your data is spread everywhere. It becomes frustrating to use and so none of it gets used.
These headaches CAN be avoided!
At both school and university I studied database and systems engineering. It was drilled into us to get your foundations right. The amount of planning before starting coding seemed ludicrous at the start, but complexity increases exponentially once data is added into the system. It is confusing and time consuming to change systems afterwards.
Therefore it is VITAL to get your data setup properly from the start. In this article I will start with the fundamentals of eID and where to start to set yourself up for success. I also have a bare bones excel spreadsheet as a guide to get started. You might think it is terribly simple, but that's the point for now. What is most important is getting everything consistent from the start.
Our Stick Reader has seen better days... It's well and truly reinforced now though!
EID dates & rebates
But first, how soon is mandatory eID? See below for your state:
Victoria: Already has mandatory eID.
All other states:
- All sheep born after 1 January 2025 must be tagged with an eID tag.
- All sheep sold after 1 January 2027 must be tagged with an eID tag. (Except Western Australia - you are given 6 months less. All sheep sold after 1 July 2026 must have an eID tag.)
Most of the states also have some rebates in place. See below for an overview of the rebate (click the links for specific details, dates, and application forms):
Queensland. 50% off tags or eID readers purchased after 1 January 2023, up to a $1600 limit.
New South Wales. $0.76 discount on each NLIS white (2025) eID tag.
South Australia. $0.95 discount on each NLIS black (2024) or white (2025) tag. PLUS up to 75% rebate on various eID equipment.
Tasmania. $1.00 discount on each NLIS blue (2023), black (2024), white (2025), orange (2026), pink (post breeder) and yellow (breeder) eID tag.
Western Australia. $0.75 discount on each NLIS black (2024) eID tag.
“I'll worry about that when it gets here.”
I see “1 January 2025” and think that looks like a date from far into the future, but it's less than 3 months away!
That means that the lamb marking you've recently completed, or are about to do will be the last time you can use non-EID tags.
It's time to get cracking and learn how to use this eID stuff!
Some of tags we've tried.
What is an eID tag?
One thing that confused many people early on with eID tags is that they thought the data was stored inside the tag.
In reality, the eID tag is a very simple device. The ONLY thing “stored” in the tag is the 16 digit RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) number. RFID is their fancy name for eID - RFID and eID are exactly the same thing and I will just use eID.
Every single eID tag has a unique eID number stored on a microchip. When you scan the tag with your electronic tag reader, it “activates” the microchip and receives the eID number. No other data is on the eartag.
Every eID number is linked with a unique NLIS ID within the NLIS database, but that is mostly irrelevant to us.
The important thing to know is that the tag ONLY has the eID number inside it - all data related to that tag will be stored on your devices (scale head, stick reader, computer, etc.)
Start simple
Another mistake people make is jumping all in and trying to do everything at once. You don't need the latest autodrafter and fanciest data software. You don't need to start collecting everything all at once. Again, you'll end up with too much information. You will be overwhelmed and won't use the data!
Once again, go back to your genetic plan (click here for July's article about this.) Then, work out your key data points. To start with, if you won't use the data to help make classing decisions, don't bother collecting it!
You can also start without a lot of equipment. You only need a tag reader and a way of quickly and easily recording information. For most people, I would recommend starting with a stick reader that allows you to record information directly on the reader with as few button presses as possible.
Again, you want it to be as simple as possible. I know I keep labouring this point because I know that if it feels like an inconvenience, it often won't get done. It's just the way our brains seem to be wired. One less button press might not seem like much, but when you're scanning hundreds of animals it makes a massive difference.
Ideally, you will be able to enter the data (once you are familiar with the device) without having to look at the screen. A prime example is condition scoring. If you have to stop after each sheep to open a menu to record the condition score, you will feel it is too much work to ever do.
On the other hand, if you can enter the data with one hand while the other hand starts to score the next sheep, then you can record that data with barely any extra time. In that case, you might as well record the data!
Make sure your device is easy and quick to use.
Start with a unique ID
This is THE most important thing to do at the start. Whenever you want to collate, add, reorder or view data differently, you MUST have a unique ID for each animal.
It is possible to use the eID tag. This is also the simplest, because every stick reader or panel reader will by default store the eID. If the eID of the sheep never changes, this is a workable system.
However, if you ever need to replace a tag, it becomes a massive headache to correct the eID everywhere. Once you start gathering a couple of different spreadsheets, it takes a lot of fiddly, time-consuming work to go through and replace the old eID with the new one.
This is why I strongly recommend creating a unique ID for each animal. Sheep Genetics requires us to use a 16-digit number, so that is what we use for our sheep. However, excel files keep trying to change 16-digit numbers into exponential form and csv files round down to the nearest 10, so avoid 16 digit numbers if you can!
Make something that will be meaningful to you, and again be easy. For our cattle we use 23B8601 for example.
- 23 is the birth year (2023.)
- B is the colour of the tag (Blue - we use K for black.)
- 86 is the bull number (from S86 in this case.)
- 01 is the calf number (we never have over 100 calves from a single bull in a year, so it will always be unique.)
A clear, simple option is 230001. 23 for the year, and 0001 for up to 9999 animals. If you get numbers printed on your tag, you should receive a “tag bucket” file from your tag provider with the tag numbers linked to the eIDs. Otherwise, you could use the last 4 digits of the NLIS number (again, use the tag bucket file.)
Closing
This article is long enough already, so you'll have to tune in next month to learn how to set up your data fields from the start so that you avoid headaches in the future. If you're already starting to record information and need advice sooner, email or call me and I'll work through it with you.
For a final time, let me say that you must start simply and with the right data structure.
You want to benefit from your data collection efforts!
Don't get overwhelmed, be in control.
Best wishes
The team at Rissmerino.
P.S Here is the spreadsheet again.
