Federated Farmers is calling on the organization implementing the National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme, or NAIT, to step up its farmer education programmes.

As of July 1 2012, nearly 10 million Kiwi cattle will have to be electronically tagged and registered online with NAIT.

Federated Farmers, which has been a reluctant supporter of the NAIT scheme, has had to bow to the inevitable.

In a statement on Monday the organization said ‘The reality farmers now face is that with both Government and Opposition supporting NAIT, it is difficult to see anywhere near a majority voting down the bill’.

Instead Fderated Farmers has been the farmers' watchdog over the process, and worked hard to ensure what will become law is practical and effective.

Now, Feds president Bruce Wills says, with significant penalties for farmers who don’t meet NAIT’s requirements, its time the NAIT organization brought farmers up to speed.

"They have underestimated the level of confusion and I guess a general lack of understanding about what the NAIT requirements are among the farming community.

"Certainly when I talk to a lot of farmers about NAIT they are simply confused."

Mr Wills says while he appreciates the system will bring with it biosecurity benefits NAIT cannot simply rely upon a website, letters, a few adverts and a call centre, to bring all New Zealand farmers up to speed on their tagging responsibilities.