Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue is pleased to launch phase 1 of a new digital application which allows sheep farmers to notify their farm-to-farm movements online. The safe and secure app developed by DAFM is named ‘AIM Services’ and when fully rolled out, will allow keepers to notify all livestock movements directly to the Department without the use of paper.
Minister McConalogue stated that it is his ultimate goal to provide all livestock keepers with a digital alternative to paper in notifying all required animal movement information directly to DAFM. The first phase of the AIM Services app will allow sheep farmers to notify their farm-to-farm movements from their phone and means they will no longer need to post the pink copy of the dispatch document to their local RVO.
Minister McConalogue highlighted the benefit of the app in reducing the administrative burden on farmers, saying, “posting forms is outdated, expensive and time consuming. The new AIM services app is a cost effective and efficient way for sheep farmers to instantly report their farm-to-farm movements. The immediacy of the notification will also further enhance our highly regarded animal traceability systems.”
Minister McConalogue encouraged all sheep keepers to engage with this user-friendly app in starting their transition to a digital notification system.
Further development of the app is planned for later in 2023. This will allow sheep (and goat) keepers to complete their 2023 annual census through the app. It is expected that the AIM Services portal will be extended to other sheep movements and to other species throughout 2024 and beyond.
