Cattle EID on the way for the UK

The UK farming industry welcomed the European Commissions’ proposal to move forward with Cattle EID. The EC made the announcement earlier this week on the need for bovine traceability, and also made recommendations for a much needed real time livestock database.

In its proposal the European Commission recommended a voluntary electronic identification system for all cattle. Several European countries currently use a voluntary EID system for ranch management purposes, which also provides an existing platform of identification for movement of bovine through its borders.

Members of the European Union mentioned that an implementation of a fully compliant EID system for cattle in the UK would strengthen the current traceability system for beef cattle and food products; making it faster and with accuracy.

In order to move quickly and give UK cattle producers an incentive to use EID, the EU has urged the UK government to allocated funds for initial grants for EID traceability to the bovine industry. The grants would be needed for cattle producers to purchase the necessary hardware for EID management, which would initially be for RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) readers.

Electronic identification (EID) tagging in sheep and goats in the UK has been mandatory since 2010, along with individual recording of each animal.

What is an EID Tag?

EID is an acronym for Electronic Identification, which is a term used for scanning or reading the identification number of an object with an electronic device or EID reader, which works the same way as a barcode scanner.

EID uses RFID as the technology used to read the identification, like a barcode scanner, RFID uses radio frequency to read the identification of a tag.

An EID tag is another term used for RFID tags, in this case an EID ear tag is the same as an RFID button tag or RFID ear tag.

Bovine EID:

Bovine EID would be the next logical step for a complete and accurate traceability system with agricultures most valued commodity.

Bovine EID makes perfect sense in a country, where Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) also known as Mad Cows disease has the highest known cases for the fatal animal disease.

When BSE was discovered in the UK, not only did it cause many deaths directly related from infected cattle, it also created a financial crises on the UK beef cattle industry. At the time of the outbreak, the UK had confirmed more than 180 000 cattle had been diagnosed with BSE, which resulted in an initial slaughter of over 4 million cattle, in an effort to eradicate the disease.

© Copyright 2011 Livestock-ID

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Branding Livestock for Animal Disease Traceability

The USDA has just released an update and status report on the new Animal Disease Traceability system, which is still in the finalization process, and to be implemented by the individual states and tribes. The time frame for the new traceability program is on target to be made mandatory in 2012.

The most recent indication from the USDA is, that they will allow branding and tattoo as an official form of animal identification within the animal disease traceability system. Until now, it was not known if branding would be considered as a compliant form of identification for livestock such as cattle, bison, sheep, goats, and pigs along with other species.

Branding will however have a new requirement or process of identification, which the USDA has yet to make public. This will change how branding will be done in the future for cattle moving interstate.

The USDA’s approach to a traceability system, still remains as a basic requirement for animal disease traceability, and would apply only to animals moving interstate. The ADT will still be implemented by each state or tribe, and the ability to use cost effective alternatives for official AIN.

The USDA will define the method and approved identification marking and devices to be used within the animal disease traceability framework.

The Grey Area of Animal Disease Identification:

There is still a grey area in the proposed animal disease traceability system, Dr. John Clifford the Chief Veterinarian Officer for APHIS released this update recently from the USDA. In the ADT update, it is stated that branding will be considered as a form of animal identification, but as an alternative form which must be agreed upon by health officials.

Here comes the grey area, if branding is accepted as an official form of identification, this is contradictory to the USDA current identification requirements for official AIN (Animal Identification Number) which is a defined format of identification on ear tags.

Another potential grey area of ADT would be the official 840 approved tags (RFID and visual) being the internationally recognized number for livestock from the United States.

The proposed Animal disease traceability program or system has so far just been for the movement of animal’s interstate, nothing has been mentioned about international tagging and identification requirements, which is the use of RFID button tags, also known as EID (Electronic Identification).

At the moment this is still the current list of official 840 tags as approved by the USDA as official compliance with AIN requirement.

Branding does not offer any quick and effective ability to read, look up an identification number or mark, which is not an ASCII character in a computer database, this issue has yet to be addressed and or defined.

An ASCII character is a numeric value in computer markup language that defines characters that are not alpha numeric, such as the # symbol and other symbols on a computer keyboard. Brands do not have an ASCII character.

So the question remains, will Branding be an official form of identification for animal disease traceability or just an additional alternative, to the official ADT method of identification?

Want to stay in the loop with the current updates on animal disease traceability? Sign up for our newsletter.

© Copyright 2011 Livestock-ID

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Livestock Insurance: How to get the Best Plan

Insurance it’s security that we can’t live without. We need insurance in all parts of our lives, from basic life insurance, car, business, to mortgage insurance.

Livestock insurance is the most needed asset in a livestock and farm operation; there are many types of livestock coverage, from basic coverage to frozen semen, livestock in transit, embryos, and many more.

Equine insurance is in a class all on its own and many livestock insurance companies do not provide complete equine coverage.

Depending on  your needs you should get equine insurance quotes separately from farm or livestock.

Farm insurance for livestock should at least cover and protect the producer against, unforeseen losses and provide financial security and peace of mind.

Like all other aspects in business, you should shop around and compare insurance rates and coverage. Livestock and Equine insurance companies, policies, and coverage’s will differ from one company to the other, and a basic comparison on insurance, is like comparing apples to oranges. The benefits of a livestock insurance policy, should meet your financial needs.

General Livestock Insurance:

Cattle	Equine	Swine	Poultry
Sheep	Goats	Bison	Llama
Mink	Exotic	Canine

4-H (Beef, Dairy, Equine, Canine)

Basic Coverage:

All Risks of Mortality (ARM)

Accidental External Injury (AEI)

Restricted Perils (RP)

Stand Alone coverage for confined feeding operations/dairies/specialty livestock

Bull Breeding Extension (BBE)

Stallion Infertility Extension

Transit (including cross country and overseas)

Show Insurance

Business Interruption

Livestock in Transit:

Basic coverage for livestock in transit insurance should provide coverage, from moving a single animal to an exhibition or sale facility, breeder to a family farm, to full loads of livestock moving across the country.

All Risks of Mortality in moving animals should be, farm to farm, farm to pasture, show and transit coverage.

Equine Insurance:

Many livestock insurers do not cover complete equine insurance, due to the complexity of operations and many variables of horses, from breed value and theft, to personal and property damages.

Equine insurance should provide the basic coverage of operations.

Trainers	Lessons	Riding Areas	Care Custody Control
Employers Liability	Wagon Rides	Rodeos

Animal Mortality for everything from the family horse to Blood Stock lines.

The main tip for livestock and equine insurance is to shop around and compare coverage, premiums, and ease of claims. When your policy is about to expire, shop around and get quotes from at least three insurance companies. Saving money effects your bottom line, financial ease of mind also has a major impact on livestock operations.

© Copyright 2011, Livestock-ID

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Livestock-ID Newsletter Sign-up

Livestock-ID will soon be publishing its first edition of the newsletter, a reminder for all to sign-up today, and don’t get left behind.

The Livestock-ID newsletter will have exclusive content, in-depth reports, and special manufacturer rebates and offer’s that are exclusive to subscribers only.

Sign-up now and get the inside scoop on products, manufacturer rebates, and government rebates or incentives for animal identification. 

The new NAIS (National Animal Identification System) which will be named “Animal Disease Traceability” will become mandatory soon, now is a better time than ever to sign-up for the Livestock-ID Newsletter.

Additional Resources:

USDA Animal Disease Traceability System A look at the proposed new NAIS, and potential requirements for animal identification.

Approved USDA Cattle Ear Tags: 840 Tags is the current and up to date list of USDA approved and official 840 tags.

Livestock-ID Newsletter Sign-up

Livestock-ID, Animal Identification Resources © Copyright 2011

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Allflex USA Buys Destron Fearing Corp

Allflex USA, Inc. has increased its product portfolio in animal identification technology; with the newly acquired Destron Fearing Corporation (animal ID) subsidiary of Digital Angel Corp. Allflex USA has completed the acquisition for $25 million USD in cash.

Digital Angel Corp. and its board of directors decided to sell off its animal ID division on the advice of independent investment consultants. The company had refused an offer of $17 million last year from PositiveID Corporation. Digital Angel will use the proceeds from the sale of Destron Fearing to concentrate on its core business of emergency identification solutions, which consist of rescue beacons.

Destron Fearing also known simply as Destron has its products used globally in many applications such as pet identification for companion animals; using its patented FDA approved implantable microchips (glass transponders). Destron’s other applications include livestock identification and herd management, using visual and RFID ear tags. Destron also manufactures a full line of RFID readers from its popular DTR-4 handheld reader to fixed panel readers, all used for livestock identification of cattle, sheep, horses and swine.

One of Destron’s most prized assets is its patents on implantable microchips, including BIO-THERMO LifeChip Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) microchip. There is also an approved Official 840 tag version of the LifeChip.

The Bio-Thermo LifeChip is a unique asset for animal identification along with the added benefits of animal health. The most popular applications for the RFID temperature tags are companion animal id and equine identification.

The implanted LifeChip allows an RFID reader to capture the animal’s body temperature, along with its unique identification. The benefit of reading real time temperature is the ability to identify a sick animal, and detect early stages of animal disease, prompting immediate action.

There are only two RFID readers on the market with this patented technology to read Bio-Thermo LifeChip tags. Small animal veterinarians use a small AVID reader, and state veterinarians and ranchers use the Destron DTR-4 handheld reader.

The DTR-4 is one of the most versatile handheld reader on the market, which reads all livestock ear tags from Allflex HDX and FDX ear tags to Destron EID tags, and Bio-Thermo LifeChip tags. The DTR-4 can also read real time body temperature, which is an advantage for equine identification.

Allflex USA is a leader in design, manufacturing and technology for livestock identification products and management tools. Allflex identification products include visual identification tags, tamperproof tags, global management tags, feedlot tags, and RFID ear tags for EID systems.

With the acquisition of Destron Fearing, Allflex USA now adds traceability and identification to animal health.

© Copyright 2011 Livestock-ID

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USDA Animal Disease Traceability System

The USDA Animal Disease Traceability system is about to be released shortly. The new Animal ID Plan will then be reviewed, funded by congress, go through a question period, will be implemented and become mandatory to all livestock producers.

Since the fall of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in Feb of 2010, the USDA had started at ground zero to create a new and improved animal ID plan. The focus and objective of the new ID program will be for animal disease traceability. Over the last year the USDA’s APHIS has conducted many public meetings with livestock industry officials to get feedback and share openly, ideas, concerns, and feasibility of a new animal identification system.

The new animal disease traceability is about to be released anytime now, there are still a few pieces to the traceability system to be determined, the following is what has already been planned and has not changed and will be implemented as the basis of the new animal disease traceability plan.

What Will Be the Foundation of Animal Disease Traceability?

The animal disease traceability will be run by each state. Cattle and four other species will be identified, if they cross state lines.

What Type of Ear Tags will be Mandatory for the Animal Disease Traceability System?

This is not known yet, but speculation would be a low cost official 840 ear tags. Details have not been released yet concerning the actual tag requirements. RFID ear tags are the preferred choice of tag, to be used in conjunction with a state run traceability system.

The USDA’s proposed framework for traceability would be to have a variety of tags to choose from, ranging from free brucellosis vaccination tags, which are applied by veterinarians, to other proposed management tags, that can be applied by livestock producers.

Flexibility and ease of implementation is the message from the USDA’s APHIS, which is the reason that all states will be responsible to create and implement their own traceability programs, which will compliant with USDA guidelines for traceability.

Why did the National Animal Identification System Fail in the Past?

Many cattle and livestock producers were opposed to a national animal identification that would have been mandatory, citing costs and privacy issues, and wanted a voluntary system only. He USDA had considered a voluntary system only, but seen there would have been minimal participation, which inevitably defies the purpose of an animal traceability program.

USDA began working on an animal identification system in the early 1990s. The traceability system was seen as a dire necessity after the 2003 disease outbreak, which the U.S. discovered three cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease. The BSE confirmed animals stopped the U.S. Beef exports, and crippled the livestock industry to a standstill.

The U.S. beef cattle industry is still feeling the repercussions from the BSE discovery of 2003. Beef exports have dropped considerably over the years, and this trend will continue because of increased import regulations from other countries.

What Do you Think, Will the New Animal Disease Traceability System Work?

The need for an animal disease traceability system is now, and the U.S. is already 10 years behind. This is still the current list of USDA Approved 840 Ear Tags.

Animal Identification Newsletter:

Livestock-ID newsletter sign up here for additional information on animal identification, tag incentive programs and more.

By George Luker © Copyright 2011 Livestock-ID

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Press Release: Free Animal ID Resources

Keeping up to date with Animal identification, processes, regulations, and new technology can be a full time task on its own. Livestock-ID blog continues to provide full resources for livestock producers, from current news and information articles, to listing links to resources, such as free ear tags for livestock.

You can read our current press release on free animal identification consulting. As we move forward with our blog, livestock producers and industry officials can stay current on topics such as animal disease traceability, new developments in products and services for livestock identification.

Livestock-ID is in the process of creating a bi-weekly newsletter, which will provide more in-depth information on all aspects of animal identification. We invite you all the sign up for the newsletter, as it will provide additional content, which might not be available on our blog.

The Livestock-ID newsletter is free and you can sign-up at anytime.

Cattle producers continue to consult the Livestock-ID blog for up to date information on market issues, traceability implementation programs and more.

Animal identification has many benefits, not only to the public sector, but to cattle and livestock producers. Implementing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) along with livestock management software can provide many cost reduction benefits for basic herd management.

Press Release: Animal Identification 1st Year of Free Consulting.

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© 2011 Livestock-ID, Animal Identification Resources

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