Implementation of the controversial National Animal Identification and Tracing (Nait) system has been deferred until next year.
The mandatory system, which will provide lifetime animal traceability, was to have gone live on November 1.
A statement issued said Nait Ltd's board, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Government remained "totally committed" to the scheme but it would be delayed to "provide certainty to farmers and the industry".
From November 1, cattle were to be tagged with Nait-approved tags, provided the National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill was passed in Parliament and the system supporting the scheme was in place.
However, Parliament had a significant list of Bills to consider over the next few months and it was becoming increasingly unlikely the legislation would be passed before the general election, Maf deputy director-general Peter Thomson said.
The revised timing would allow the system to be further refined and tested before implementation, Nait Ltd chief executive Russell Burnard said.
A new target date has been set as mid-late 2012, pending the passing of legislation.
Federated Farmers, which had previously called for the scheme to be delayed or abandoned, welcomed the decision.
In its submission to Parliament's primary production select committee, it stated a national, compulsory Nait scheme was not needed in New Zealand at this time.
"What this delay brings is opportunity. We don't wish to re-litigate the past, but clearly Government wants a mandatory system, whereas Federated Farmers' preference was for a market-led, productivity-driven scheme," the organisation's co-spokesman on animal identification, Lachlan McKenzie, said.
Federated Farmers wanted to discuss with Nait Ltd and Maf how the scheme could be further improved, for example by using Ultra High Frequency tags that enabled data to be stored and manipulated, he said.