More than 30,000 farmers have signed up for the National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme ahead of its mandatory implementation for cattle on Sunday.
NAIT Ltd chief executive Russell Burnard was pleased with the response, saying the number of registrations showed a lot of people wanted "to be ready to go from day one".
From Sunday, farmers and industry participants have to adopt new processes. To enable animals to be traced, people in charge of cattle need to register with NAIT, tag and register their stock, and record when animals were moved from farms.
The scheme linked individual animals to the person responsible for them, and their current location via the animal's radio frequency identification device (RFID) ear tag and a central database. Deer join the scheme on March 1 next year.
New Zealand agriculture would mark a "significant milestone" on Sunday, Primary Industries Minister David Carter said.
The scheme was a significant step in protecting New Zealand's farmers in the international marketplace.
"With most other agricultural producing nations already having computerised tracing of animals, New Zealand simply cannot afford to lag behind," Mr Carter said.
Lifetime animal traceability was an asset that New Zealand could use as part of its international reputation for producing food to the highest standards. It was also an opportunity for farmers to increase productivity by identifying superior animals.
In the case of a biosecurity outbreak affecting livestock, the NAIT scheme would enable a quick and efficient response, reducing the impact on the agriculture sector and the economy, Mr Carter said.
