Costs

The NAIT scheme is operated by NAIT Ltd, a not-for-profit company owned by industry bodies Dairy NZ, Beef + Lamb NZ, and Deer Industry New Zealand. NAIT Ltd's operating costs will be funded by a combination of Crown (35 percent) and Industry (65 percent) funding.

Levies for cattle

From 1 July 2012 tag and slaughter levies will apply for cattle:

  • The cattle tag levy for 2012/13 will be $1.10 excluding GST per tag.  The tag levy is paid at point of purchase as part of the overall cost of the tag. 
     
  • The slaughter levy for 2012/13 will be $1.35 per head excluding GST per tag, and will be administered by meat processors.  

NAIT has also established a transitional process allowing animals that are impractical to tag to be sent to meat processors without NAIT tags, subject to payment of an impractical to tag levy.   

For the 2012/13 financial year the impractical to tag levy will be $13 excluding GST per head. Animals will only be eligible for the levy if they are impractical to tag, being transported directly to meat processors, and have an official Animal Health Board primary barcode tag.

The impractical to tag levy: 

  • Recognises that tag costs and tag levies have not been paid if animals are untagged
  • Covers the NAIT Ltd costs associated with manually processing an untagged animal
  • Acts as an incentive to tag animals wherever practical.

Deer industry contributions

Deer join the NAIT scheme on 1 March 2013. NAIT will recover two percent of its operating costs from Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ), which will in turn recover this cost from its members.

RFID ear tag applicators

You will need to buy an RFID ear tag applicator to correctly apply NAIT-approved RFID tags.

Older models of applicators are not designed for RFID tags and could damage the tag when the tag is being applied.

To ensure the applicator you currently use on-farm is suitable for NAIT-approved RFID ear tags, contact your usual rural services provider.

RFID ear tag readers

You do not need to purchase an RFID reader (or scanner) to be NAIT-compliant. However, you may choose to purchase one for additional on-farm benefits.

Read about on-farm benefits of RFID technology

Costs will vary depending on the size and type of reader needed for your on-farm management purposes. For exact RFID reader costs, contact your usual rural services provider.