Who is your cattle tag supplier

I haven't had any issues with Mullinahone tags with our own stock and touch wood haven't had a empty BVD sample - I've probably cursed myself now!

We buy in and feed dairy cull cows and they were a torture a few years ago with tags falling out mostly at the feed barrier. I spent too much time ordering replacement tags but it seems to have changed about and we have very few nowdays.

Mullinahone. Never had an empty. Only using 15 sets a year.

moved from mullinahone to Cormac about 5-6 years ago. Cormac far better.

I have the home herd with Mullinahone and OH has hers with Cormac. What I like about Cormac is that you have one tagger that does the whole lot. At the moment with button tags for SCEP from Mullinahone I have 3 different tags to apply to each calf and that is 3 different tagger set-ups. That will drop to 2 soon enough but is still one too many. Will be switching to Cormac as soon as I have my stockpile used up too I think.

There seems to be an improvement over the last few years with the quality of Mullinahone and I don't seem to be getting as many lost tags as previously. There are still too many pros for Cormac IMO though

One tagger does all

Sample tags much simpler as the bottle is attached

No waste, tags come in a strip of 4 with perforations between them, Mullinahone are all clipped into those little plastic carriers that they inevitably fall out of and are an extra waste and need to be disposed of.

Quicker turnaround times from order to delivery

mullinahone had a serious problem with lost tags one year, after press publicity they sent replacement foc, I had maybe 25 tags left over 'till the next and no way would they replace them eventhough they knew they were the same batch

often waited 6 weeks for delivery after paying, switched to cormac and different world , even the staff on the phone lines are pleasant and helpful

I ordered 3 replacement tags at breakfast time this morning, these were free and I just had to pay postage. They were dispatched this evening

You get free replacement tags with Mullinahone, not sure if there's an age limit on them. 2 of these were born last August and the other was a tag I broke while tagging a few weeks ago

Gave up on Mullinahone after 10% empty last year. Rang up to complain and the usual comments of "are you using the right tag with the right back". After 10 plus years tagging that's hard to listen to. Went to Cormac and just 1 empty sample this year

mullinahone since plastic tags started.

No issues at all. When a tag is lost and re ordered, I get replacements quick.

only issue is invoices but that could be me

Had completely forgotten some of the details of using the Mullinahone tags.

Cormac much more efficient system. Sample is done with no fiddly bottles needed. They've improved how the tags come in the box too. Used be in a bag and needed to be careful taking them out to keep in order. Now lined up in the box ready to use. Cardboard box the only waste. Could throw it under calves when empty. That cannot be said of the other lot.

THe red and blue tubes are alot better

It's the phone service they really have to improve, it's terrible.

Rode their luck?!

Rode every farmer in Ireland that had to replace their substandard tags more like.

Cormac here.

Watch out, they must be keeping tabs on your social media

The big thing for me now is the con job of BVD testing still going and the cost involved after so many years, should have being done away with at this stage like the brucellosis testing.

I ordered a replacement tag from Mullinahone for a cow on Tuesday 28th of May. The tag was in the post box on Thursday the 30th. IMO their service has greatly improved (thanks to competition) in the last two/three years.

It's mainly cull cows I buy here. I reckon 15% of my cows have one tag. I'm nearly finished buying so this time of year I order all the one tags. I bought two cows together in a mart and they'd one tag between the two of them only after fortnight. Last week I bought a cow in a mart with just the white dna tag on her. It's really really frustrating that if I get an inspection and I've X amount one tag its on me.

In fermoy mart last Tuesday the dept landed and pulled out about 13 cattle with one tag even at that I still ended up buying a cow with one and the dept never spotted her.

What is the Dept policy on tag replacement? I'm with Cormac and want to get replacement tags for lost ones on a few cows. It says on their site - "It is a legal requirement to replace a lost EID tag with another EID tag" but how do you know if the the cow had an EID tag originally?

What year were the EID ones made compulsory?

Great, that makes them all ordinary tags so.

Anyone know if BVD testing will continue into next year? I have calf tags to order and crazy to be ordering BVD ones if testing will stop after this year.