eID Case Study and Benefit Cost Analysis Development

Summary

​The course titled “Using eID (electronic identification) in beef management” was developed for beef producers to increase their understanding of the technology, data collection and analysis to attain productivity gains in their business. The course currently lacks real case studies to assist producers attending how to analyse the extent of the value of the costs and benefits of eID technology in their businesses. This project aimed to supply case studies demonstrating the extent of the costs and benefits and the factors that result in adequate returns on investment in the technology.

A review of the course was conducted followed by an assessment of the costs of investment in eID technology and the extent of the possible benefits. Approximately twenty commercial beef producers and a number of others including technology suppliers, processors and feedlot operators  were contacted to establish their views on the technology, how it was implemented and how they perceived that it may add value to a farm business.

Five case studies have been developed outlining the extent of the costs and benefits of eID when integrated with other technology on farm. The aim was to identify commercial beef producers as the primary targets for conducting the case studies with two from northern Australia and three from southern Australia. Seed stock operators were avoided as the business case for investment in eID differs between seed stock operators and commercial operators. This is mainly due to the differences in labour intensity and necessity to record objective individual animal performance data.

The case studies assist in identifying some of the key issues that require addressing prior to investment in eID technology if the primary aim is to generate a return on investment exceeding fifteen percent.