Farmers urged to use grant funding to save on EID 

From summer 2026, DEFRA will introduce changes to cattle identification, registration and reporting. Electric ID (EID) will become mandatory for all new-born calves from 2027.

The government said that these changes will simplify regulations and support industry to boost productivity, food security and international trade.

MSD Animal Health is now urging beef and dairy farmers in England to use the latest Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) to part-fund the purchase of EID equipment, including handheld stick readers, shedding gates, panel readers and weighing systems.

The FETF grant offers up to 50% funding towards the cost of a wide selection of EID equipment, potentially saving farmers hundreds of pounds as they prepare for the new mandate to come into effect.

READ MORE: Electronic ID for cattle to become mandatory

‘Timely opportunity to save money’

Johnny Mackey, MSD Animal Health’s stakeholder engagement lead, explained: “For producers who have yet to make the transition over to EID, or those looking to upgrade or replace existing equipment, the latest round of grant funding offers a timely opportunity to save money on some key pieces of technology and to ensure they have everything in place ahead of the new rules coming into effect.”

The expert added: While the DEFRA announcement cites the introduction of mandatory EID as a major step forward in disease control and trade across the farming sector, electronic identification also offers growers the chance to make some notable improvements to the way their herds are managed.

“Beef and dairy producers who have voluntarily introduced EID into their herds are already seeing significant time savings when recording tag numbers electronically.

“Using a stick or wand reader to scan tags not only saves a huge amount of time when animals are being moved, treated, or weighed, but also removes the scope for human error to creep into record keeping. It also enables tasks such as drafting to be automated, and negates the need for pen and paper when working in wet and windy environments,” Mr Mackey continued.

The data generated by EID can also be transferred to farm management software programmes quickly and reliably to create a lifetime of data for each animal.

“This data can then be used to assess each animal’s performance, medical history and overall merit within the herd, in turn empowering herd managers to make informed breeding and culling decisions which could improve the farm’s overall profitability and viability,” the expert concluded.

Relevant EID items available for grant funding under the latest FETF include:

Grant funding is also available for MSD Animal Health’s herd monitoring system, SenseHub, under FETF315CA – Automatic health and welfare remote monitoring system.

Applications for the 2025 FETF are currently open. For more information, click here.

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