Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) was in Saskatchewan recently, at Regina’s Canadian Western Agribition, to encourage livestock producers to take advantage of the new radio frequency identification technology (RFID).
As of September 1, 2006, all cattle leaving their herd of origin will need the new CCIA-approved RFID tag.
"This technology represents a significant improvement on the old bar-coded tags used until now," says Megan Gauley, CCIA Communications Co-ordinator. "It was adopted after an international review committee took a look at the system in place, shortly after the first BSE case in 2003. It established that the industry needed to make a move towards an improved electronic means of getting information about our cattle."
The radio frequency tag has a chip in it designed to last the life of the animal. It is only activated when a reader is put near it. The chip emits the information, which is then captured by the reader as a unique identification signal.
"With the bar-coded tag, if there is a scratch or a little manure on it, manual entry is required," explains Gauley. "When that happens, there is a greater chance of mistakes occurring. This way, you get an accurate read every time. Unlike a bar-coded tag, you never need to actually see a number to recognize the animal."
Gauley invites Saskatchewan cattle producers to come on board with the new technology and to take advantage of the resulting value-added advantages, like age verification.
"Age verification is attaching the animal's birth date information to the tag," says Gauley. "Previously, we used dentition. Age verification is now trumping dentition with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). So it provides Canadians with a more accurate birth date. As a producer, you can actually go online to the CCIA website with your PIN number and submit your animals’ birth dates so that, when the tag is read electronically, the information can be used to help you market your cattle."
In fact, she explains, if Japan’s borders open to Canadian beef, accurate age verification will be required. “We know that there have been cattle going into the United States using the age verification data instead of dentition, so having that means you don’t need a vet coming in and doing the dentition part of it prior to shipping to the U.S.A.”
Gauley says some buyers have already indicated that they will pay a premium for age-verified cattle in Canada. And if the Japanese market does open, as it seems will occur, it is likely that country will require a specified age of no more than so many months. If the requirement is for beef from animals under 20 months, they will require that the beef come from animals that have been age-verified on the CCIA database.
Fortunately, Gauley concludes, Canada, as a country, is definitely ahead of the game. “We are moving towards a system that will give us more effective trace-back information. As of now, the U.S.does not have a similar electronic age verification system.”
The Canadian Cattle Identification Program is an industry-initiated and –established trace-back system designed for the containment and eradication of animal disease.
For more information, contact:
Megan Gauley
Communications Co-ordinator
Canadian Cattle Identification Agency
(403) 275-2083
www.canadaid.ca
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