Livestock Identification & Movement
Livestock ID & Movement: How It Works
The end-to-end sequence, stage by stage, with nothing skipped.
The module is modelled as an explicit state machine with 8 stages. Every record knows which stage it is at, what has to happen to move on, and what is blocking it if it cannot. A keeper whose animals cross the England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland border must interact with several separate national systems, each with its own identifiers, timescales and interfaces. This module presents one movement workflow and routes the notification to the correct national system automatically — the single clearest example of what a four-nation platform can do that no single-nation incumbent can.
End to end
How Livestock ID & Movement runs, start to finish
The module is modelled as a state machine, so at any point the business knows exactly which stage every record is at and what has to happen next.
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1
Identify the animals and the destination
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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2
Check disease zone and licence requirements
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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3
Confirm standstill status
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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4
Generate movement documentation
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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5
Move and record
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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6
Route the notification to the correct national system
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
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7
Reconcile confirmation
Results feed the whole-farm view, so the effect of this stage is visible against the rest of the business.
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8
Update the holding register
The cycle closes here, and what is learned is carried into next season's plan rather than lost.
Sequence
The order things happen in
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Stage 1
Identify the animals and the destination
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
-
Stage 2
Check disease zone and licence requirements
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
-
Stage 3
Confirm standstill status
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
-
Stage 4
Generate movement documentation
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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Stage 5
Move and record
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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Stage 6
Route the notification to the correct national system
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
Before you start
What you will need, and what the module handles for you
Most of this comes across automatically once your holding is registered. The list is here so nothing arrives as a surprise.
In practice
Six things Livestock ID & Movement changes on day one
None of these requires a new process. They all come from recording the work you already do, once, in a form the rest of the platform can use.
Unified movement workflow covering on
Unified movement workflow covering on, off, internal and cross-border movements.
Automatic routing to the correct
Automatic routing to the correct national system by holding and species.
County Parish Holding number and
County Parish Holding number and holding identifier management across nations.
Individual animal identification with tag
Individual animal identification with tag, EID and passport records.
Batch movement handling for sheep
Batch movement handling for sheep with individual recording where required.
Movement licence requirements checked against
Movement licence requirements checked against current disease control zones.
Traceability
The chain behind one batch
Livestock traceability is statutory, the reporting window is short, and it runs through a different national system in each nation. The record is assembled as the animal moves rather than reconstructed at audit.
BATCH-71C8FE
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Born on holding
- Who
- Holding of birth
- Evidence
- Ear tag applied and registered
- Held in
- British Cattle Movement Service
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Health intervention
- Who
- Veterinary practice
- Evidence
- Medicine record with withdrawal period
- Held in
- Medicine book
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Moved
- Who
- Haulier
- Evidence
- Statutory movement report within the reporting window
- Held in
- British Cattle Movement Service
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Received
- Who
- Destination holding
- Evidence
- Arrival recorded, standstill applied
- Held in
- Holding register
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Slaughtered
- Who
- Approved abattoir
- Evidence
- Kill sheet, classification and food chain information
- Held in
- FSA
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Sold
- Who
- Buyer
- Evidence
- Batch linked to the carcase and the holding of origin
- Held in
- Platform record
Take the record with you
Questions answered
What people ask about Livestock ID & Movement
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Livestock ID & Movement is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
National system transition timing. Mitigated by building to the developer interfaces and tracking the change. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
What we are hearing
The problems people describe to us
These are composite statements drawn from user research conversations, not attributed customer quotes. We publish named references only with written consent.
I am not short of software. I am short of one place where the same field means the same thing in all of it.
The scheme closed on a Tuesday evening. I had the application half built. Nobody told me the budget was nearly gone.
We farm on both sides of the border. Everything takes twice as long and I still cannot see the whole position on one screen.
Audit week costs me three days. Every single record they ask for is already written down somewhere on this farm.
See Livestock ID & Movement running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours