CATTLE Count 2000 will take place on September 10. Farmers are asked to help extend the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) to cover all cattle in the national herd.

"We need farmers' co-operation to load details of some 6m-7m older cattle onto the database," said Baroness Hayman, Minister of State at MAFF. We will be asking farmers to take Sunday, September 10, as the registration date and to confirm details of older cattle on their holdings on that date."

Forms have been sent out and farmers are asked to return the information by September 25. Those with access to the internet can view an electronic copy of their form and register their cattle via the Cattle Herd Registration Website. Deadline for internet registration is the same as for the paper version.

CTS was launched in the autumn of 1998 and holds full details for cattle born or imported since then. It also holds birth and death details of cattle born or imported from July 1996 when cattle passports were first introduced. These cattle need to be located and all cattle born or imported before July 1, 1996, need to be registered for the first time.