Approved CSIP RFID Ear Tags

The Canadian Sheep Federation announced the Approved CSIP RFID Ear Tags which will be in effect as of January 01, 2013. CSIP tags are to be used with the Canadian Sheep Identification Program.

The Canadian Sheep Federation is moving forward in their current RFID sheep pilot, and progressing well with the implementation of RFID systems, and usability of the technology in place.
With the progress of the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) RFID Pilot, the CSF has given notice to its members on the new adoption of RFID ear tags for sheep.

UPDATE: in June 2011 the Canadian Sheep Federation extended the deadline for the RFID traceability requirement to January 01, 2013. The discontinued tags are no longer available for purchase, and it is recommended these tags be used immediately if you have them, or to use the new CSIP Approved RFID ear tags, as listed below.  

Approved CSIP RFID Ear Tags:

 

Effective January 1^st, 2013 the Approved CSIP Ear Tags will be the Allflex RFID tag and Shearwell RFID Tag. 

All sheep and goats will need to be tagged with approved CSIP Ear Tags.

Allflex RFID CSIP Tag: Approved Tag

Shearwell RFID CSIP Tag: Approved Tag

CSIP Tags that will be Decommissioned:

Ketchum Kurl Lock #3 (Pink)
Allflex Dangle Tag (Pink)
Allflex Dangle Tag

These tags are no longer official approved CSIP tags, and will no longer be sold after July 01, 2011. The tags will no longer be accepted by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) as identification tags after Dec 31, 2011.


The Federal government has made a commitment to have a national traceability program in place for sheep and goats by December 31 2011, which will allow the tracing of sheep and goats from point of origin to the consumer.

In order to meet the requirements of the national traceability program, the Canadian Sheep Federation will need to adapt to using RFID tags, which will add integrity to the traceability program. The CSF has looked at all RFID tags available on the market, that would also meet the requirements of the Sheep and Goat industry, which due to size restraints has made an official approval of these tags from Allflex and Shearwell.

The traceability and reliability that RFID provides is essential for the development of the national traceability program, and the Canadian sheep and goat industry. Canadian sheep producers must move forward and increase their livestock production at a cost effective rate, to compete with Australian and New Zealand sheep industry.

At the moment Canadian sheep producers supply an approximate 40% of domestic supply of consumed lamb products. In keeping up with the demand for domestic lambs, producers must also be compliant with current food safety regulations. Australia and New Zealand are currently compliant with all food safety regulations, as RFID traceability of their livestock is already place.

CSIP RFID ear tags will give producers an extra benefit of on farm management, as the need to increase flock size is inevitable in Canada to meet current and future demands, this would have an extra cost in basic identification alone. RFID tags and livestock management software can provide producers, with reliable identification as well as basic record keeping that is quick, efficient, and reliable. 

The benefits of RFID tags in livestock are accurate identification quickly, ability to retrieve animal data, such as birth date, inoculations, inspections, weaning, weight, and so on. This info is quickly retrieved with basic sheep management software. Reporting of animal movements is also done quickly and reliably with an RFID reader, which then sends the tag EID’s to the sheep management software. With the sheep management software you then easily transmit your files of animal movements to the CLTS (Canadian Livestock Tracking System).

RFID readers and software are not needed with the national traceability program, but do give producers an added advantage in sheep management costs.

Additional Resources:

Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) RFID Sheep Pilot

Canadian Lamb Company Initiative: A New Organization 


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