County Durham hill farmers Kay and Tom Hutchinson adopted iLivestock to simplify traceability, bring their sheep and cattle records together and turn everyday animal data into more useful management information. Ten years after their story was first published by Allflex, they remain iLivestock customers.
County Durham farmers Kay and Tom Hutchinson use iLivestock for EID traceability
When Kay and Tom Hutchinson first invested in electronic identification technology in 2016, they could already see the direction livestock farming was taking.
The tenant farmers at Bail Hill, near Barnard Castle in County Durham, manage sheep and pedigree cattle in a demanding hill-farming environment. Their livestock have included a flock of 180 breeding ewes, among them 100 pedigree Swaledales, alongside pedigree Limousin and Hereford cattle carrying the Kingshaugh prefix.
Keeping accurate records across different species, bloodlines and family flocks generated considerable paperwork. Electronic identification offered a quicker and more reliable way to capture that information, while iLivestock gave the Hutchinsons a practical place to use it.
For Tom and Kay, one of iLivestock’s most valuable benefits was the ability to manage sheep and cattle records together.
Animal information could be accessed from a mobile device in the field, reducing the preparation and pressure associated with inspections. Instead of relying on handwritten tag numbers or memory, the Hutchinsons could maintain individual animal histories and refer to them when making breeding and management decisions.
This was particularly useful during tupping. Pedigree information recorded in iLivestock allowed Tom to look back through bloodlines and reduce the risk of putting related animals together.
The system also helped the family manage animals belonging to different holdings. Tom’s father and the couple’s children had their own Swaledale and Herdwick flocks, making clear, accessible records especially important.
Before adopting EID technology, tag numbers often had to be called out and written down manually. This was slower, vulnerable to transcription errors and particularly difficult when tags were dirty or difficult to read.
Electronic reading made routine jobs such as recording animals, administering treatments and preparing livestock for sale faster and more accurate.
As Tom recalled:
“We scanned 53 sheep this morning in less than a minute.”
That speed made it possible to check animals close to the time they left for the mart, while helping prevent missing or incorrectly recorded tag numbers.
Traceability and livestock records are essential parts of modern farming. However, the information associated with an EID tag can support much more than basic compliance.
The Hutchinsons used iLivestock to bring together information including movements, medicines, withdrawal periods, lambing details, breeding histories and their own animal notes. Over time, these records could help them identify patterns and make better-informed decisions about flock performance.
Tom summarised the opportunity simply:
“We can use the data to make the flock more efficient and productive.”
This remains central to iLivestock today. As electronic identification and traceability requirements expand in livestock markets around the world, many farmers are purchasing digital equipment for the first time.
iLivestock helps turn that initial compliance requirement into a practical route towards weighing, performance monitoring and more advanced animal management.
Traditional precision-livestock systems have often been too expensive or complicated for smaller and medium-sized farms. The Hutchinsons’ experience showed that useful livestock technology does not need to be adopted all at once.
Farmers can start with identification and record keeping, then add connected reading and weighing equipment as their needs develop.
Today, iLivestock combines animal management software with connected hardware designed for everyday sheep and cattle farming. Its identify → weigh → manage approach connects the key stages of livestock management:
Identify: Read an animal’s EID tag accurately and connect it with the correct digital record.
Weigh: Capture and monitor individual weights to understand growth and performance.
Manage: Use identification, weight, breeding, medicine and movement information to support practical decisions.
iLivestock’s own compact eTagReader can read livestock EID tags and communicate directly with the iLivestock platform. Connected weighing products can then add individual weight data to the same animal records.
The result is one accessible system for compliance, traceability and performance management—designed around the needs of family-run beef and sheep farms.
Kay and Tom’s story was originally published by Allflex in 2016, when they were beginning to explore what electronic identification and connected livestock records could do for their farm.
A decade later, they remain iLivestock customers. Their experience continues to demonstrate an important point: the value of an electronic tag lies not only in meeting a recording requirement, but in using the information behind it to save time, improve accuracy and support better livestock decisions.
iLivestock subscribers currently receive 15% off the recommended retail price of Allflex MSD sheep and cattle tags. This offer is available in the UK only. Subscribers can choose from the available tag options and mix products to suit their flock or herd. Find out more and order Allflex MSD tags through iLivestock.
This customer story has been adapted and updated from an article originally published by Allflex in 2016. Read the original Allflex case study.