Calling all dairy, beef, sheep and goat farmers…put away your pad and pencil and store all your animal management records online!

Farming Connect has arranged two fully-funded online webinars which will encourage dairy, beef, sheep and goat farmers throughout Wales to keep all their livestock records online. Learn how to set up your account, store and update all essential data about your stock in one simple process.  Find out why you need to ditch the outdated pad and pencil approach and get to grips with this time-saving, stress-free online technology!

Experts from both Welsh Lamb & Beef Producers (WLBP) and EIDCymru will soon convince you that if you’re not already signed up, now is the time to input and maintain accurate up to date records of animal management online.

As soon as you start using the farm management software package, you also have the option of automatically forwarding all movement of livestock records directly to EIDCymru and BCMS.

Llyr Lewis, farm records and standards co-ordinator with WLBP will host the interactive webinar  ‘Online Farm Records & Animal Health Planning’. Taking place online at 6.30pm on Monday, 9 November and expected to last around one hour, this is your chance to hear how WLBP’s online farm records ‘app’, which you can access from any hand-held electronic device as you manage your stock, or from a computer, will benefit you and save you time.

The ‘app’ includes a sheep flock book, cattle herd register and medicine purchase and treatment record, which are all statutory requirements.  It is available to all WLBP members, which includes producers in the beef and lamb (FAWL) scheme, dairy schemes and the Welsh Organic scheme.

Everything you record for cattle movement, births and deaths can be automatically be forwarded to BCMS.  All movements you record for sheep and goats can be forwarded to EIDCymru as an option.

An interactive webinar on  ‘Using the EIDCymru website’ will be held at 6pm on Monday, 23 November.   Delivered jointly by Jonathan Pryce and Shân Evans, team leaders within the EID Cymru bureau, this 45 minute long webinar will explain why all sheep and goat owners still relying on paper licences should now consider setting up their own online account on the EIDCymru website.

EIDCymru is the online sheep and goat traceability system for Wales, which provides a modern robust movement reporting and traceability system that can respond quickly and effectively in any disease outbreak.

“This webinar will talk you through the benefits of using the EIDCymru website and explain how and where to record sheep and goat movements, how to accept movements arranged by others, such as a livestock market or different keeper and how to use EIDCymru to complete your annual inventory,” said Mr. Pryce.

Mr Pryce added that the webinar will also provide guidance on signing up for EIDCymru and setting up your own secure online account.

All farmers registered with Farming Connect can book a place at one or both of these interactive seminars.  Places must be booked in advance, before 9am on the day of the actual webinar.  You can either book online by visiting www.gov.wales/farmingconnect or call the Service Centre who will arrange this on your behalf. You will be sent a Zoom webinar link on the morning of each webinar.

Farming Connect, which is delivered by Menter a Busnes and Lantra, has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.