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Farmers participating in the BDGP will be applying genomics tissue tags to animals over the coming weeks.

It is critically important that farmers take the proper precautions when applying tissue tags. While applying tags is a relatively pain-free procedure, it does cause some momentary discomfort for the animal. It is therefore important that animals, particularly cows and stock bulls, are properly restrained when tags are being applied.

It is advised to restrain each animal in a head bail when applying tags so that the animal’s head is kept steady. Applying tags to animals in a crush without the use of a head bail is not advised as the animal has too much freedom to move its head, which can result in tags breaking, damage to the animal’s ear and increases the risk of injury to the farmer. Never apply tags to animals that are loose in a pen or field, regardless of how docile you think they are.

The following clip shows a tissue tag being applied to a cow restrained in a locking feed barrier.