The responsibilities of landowners* and graziers on cattle identification and registration have been made much simpler. Landowners have no need to keep on-farm records (Herd Registers) for animals for which they are not required to become the registered keeper on the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) due to a valid CTS Link being in place.
The Cross Compliance Handbook for England (2006 edition supplement), issued in May, should now be amended. The second bullet point of the Cattle (SMRs 7 and 8) section at the top of page 16 should be replaced with the following text:
The keeper will be liable for all animals that are, or should be, registered to them on CTS. Landowners should note that where they provide land for grazing but are not required to become the registered keeper of the animals (due to a valid CTS link being in place) they will not be liable for breaches of SMRs 7 and 8, but they will be liable for all other cross compliance standards on their holding, including the land being grazed.
Landowners and graziers who are unsure of their obligations in regard to cattle identification and registration should contact the BCMS Helpline on 0845 050 1234.
The supplement is available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/capreform/pubs/ccompl.htm and http://www.rpa.gov.uk/rpa/index.nsf/UIMenu/814240C66F10CAC8802570C7004248D4?Opendocument
* “Landowner” in this context can be an owner or tenant who provides land for grazing.
