03/02/11~ Farmers turning to electronic service for cattle reporting
Farmers turning to electronic service for cattle reporting
The number of cattle births reported on RPA’s electronic service – online or over the phone - leapt 10 per cent in December 2010.
Farmers chose to ring the self-service phone line or use CTS Online to tell RPA about 83 per cent of cattle births in December 2010 compared to 73 per cent the year before. And 80 per cent of cattle movements were reported electronically in December 2010 compared to 74 per cent in December 2009.
The increase, shown in the latest figures published by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), shows that new electronic services provided for cattle keepers are proving valuable and popular.
Sue Mellor, BCMS Operations Lead said: “It is encouraging to see so many farmers turning to the electronic services rather than traditional paper-based reporting. Farmers tell us it is quicker and easier, saving time and money.”
The self-service phone line was launched in summer 2010 and figures for the last quarter already show an increase of 45 per cent in calls compared to the previous quarter.
More information on the new electronic services can be found on the BCMS pages of the new RPA website at rpa.defra.gov.uk by phoning the BCMS helpline on 0845 050 1234 (English) or 0845 050 3456 (Welsh-language) or by email to
bcms-enquiries@bcms.rpa.gsi.gov.uk
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Notes to Editors
RPA is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It is the single paying agency responsible for CAP schemes in England and is responsible for administering the Single Payment Scheme. Other key services include carrying out rural inspections and livestock tracing.
BCMS is part of the Rural Payments Agency. BCMS is the specialised cattle tracing organisation for Great Britain. Its functions are to:
maintain a register of births, deaths and imports of cattle to be used for animal health and subsidy control purposes;
issue cattle passports;
record where individual cattle are;
operate a dedicated
Helpline and provide online facilities for delivering its services.
RPA is making changes to its website. The main change is be phasing out the URL – the web address
www.rpa.gov.uk, which is being replaced by
rpa.defra.gov.uk
We will set up a redirection for a while so if visitors do use the current web address they will be sent to the new one. It may be easier to bookmark the new site for the next visit. We are also updating the way the site looks so that it uses the same style template as the Defra website. This means the information on the RPA website will be presented in a slightly different way on the page but all the content is the same.
Media only contact: Timma Marett, RPA Press Office, 0118 968 7680
timma.marett@rpa.gsi.gov.uk
Page published: 9 May 2013