840 Tags

[Aero]

I don't really know how the 840 tag/database is supposed to work. Here are some questions that are probably dumb but I don't know the answer:

If I buy animals from someone who has already registered the animals location (their premise ID), is someone supposed to update the location of that animal in the database?

Or am I supposed to removed the tags and put my own in when I receive them?

Are they required for anything other than movement in and out of state?

Are there any benefits of having them other than transport requirement?

 

[kenny thomas]

My first question is why are you using them. The only ones I see are the ones that are installed as they are preg checked at the stockyard. With those there are no premise ID. Many of those are cut out as soon as the cow gets back to the farm. It's something that Virginia is pushing but sure isn't required here.
Cows from here are moved to Tennessee every week and I have never heard of anyone being ask about it.

 

[Buck Randall]

I don't really know how the 840 tag/database is supposed to work. Here are some questions that are probably dumb but I don't know the answer:

If I buy animals from someone who has already registered the animals location (their premise ID), is someone supposed to update the location of that animal in the database?

Or am I supposed to removed the tags and put my own in when I receive them?

Are they required for anything other than movement in and out of state?

Are there any benefits of having them other than transport requirement?

If you buy animals with 840 numbers in, you leave them in. No need to update a database. If someone tries to trace the animals, they'll start at the original owner, and follow their records to you.

Removing 840 tags is prohibited by law. It's rare that it would ever become a problem, but people have gotten into hot water for removing official ID tags.

They're not currently required for anything other than interstate travel. The average producer has no other use for them, but they are pretty common on large dairies because you can just scan them with a wand that synchronizes with computer records instead of doing everything manually. They also work with automatic feeders and sort gates.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Having a PB herd, showing and selling I have been using them for several years now. I calfhood vaccinate all my heifers, so instead of the vet putting the old metal NYS tag in their ear (that usually got infected), he uses MY 840 tags for permanent ID.
Removing them is prohibited by law like Buck said.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

The state (at least NYS) gives them to you FREE. I get a box of 100 at a time. You can fill out a form & mail/email it into the state. They were actually set up at our Feb. Farm Show. You just filled out the form & they handed you an amount depending on the size of your herd.
When you get the tags, they CANNOT be used by any other producer. They are strictly for YOUR cattle.

 

[cbcr]

With the 840 tags, there are many fairs that require animals to have an 840 tag in order to enter and show.

We use the 840 tag numbers as registration numbers. Some still want us to assign a registration number and list the 840 number on the papers. (our papers have several more fields for identifying and cross referencing an animal)

And as some mentioned above, is against the law to remove them, but we know that they do get removed anyway.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Removing 840 tags is prohibited by law. It's rare that it would ever become a problem, but people have gotten into hot water for removing official ID tags.

So is the theory that these 840 tags are supposed to replace the KETCHUM steel tags used at sale barns?

 

[Aero]

Thanks for the responses.

My original intent was to have an easy way to pull up their record page at the chute as well as the lower likelihood of a small tag getting lost. Most of the animals I have came from out of state so they were mostly there to begin with. I have found that my software has a QR code that I can put on the back of their tag that doesn't require an expensive reader but the 840 is a decent backup.

I bought 100 of them at $1.90 each and hadn't heard they were ever free but it makes sense if the states are pushing it. It took 2 weeks to get them and I assumed they had to be registered with my premise ID before coming but it sounds like they can give them out first then register your premise ID later.

I'm only using them on animals I intend to stay a while so I see no benefit in putting them in the stockers that will sell locally.

 

[Buck Randall]

So is the theory that these 840 tags are supposed to replace the KETCHUM steel tags used at sale barns?

Yes. It was already supposed to have happened, but R-CALF filed a lawsuit and the USDA quit pursuing it. The lawsuit has since been dismissed, so I expect that the USDA will try to require them again at some point.

R-CALF USA Lawsuit Dismissed After USDA Drops RFID Ear Tag Proposal

The U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America, after USDA dropped a proposal to require radio frequency identification tags on all cattle in interstate commerce by 2023.

www.dtnpf.com

 

[simme]

Our local university bull test uses the GrowSafe system to measure (weigh) feed intake for each bull. So, bulls are required to be delivered to the test with an 840 EID tag to identify whose head is in the feed opening so that the feed consumed is allocated to the correct bull for the feed/gain efficiency calculations.

The EID tag is largely about traceability for health reasons due to the "madcow" outbreak many years ago. Makes me think of this - we can trace pedigrees online for registered cattle for many generations back. Names, numbers, owners, sometimes weights, colors, and other issues. Yet most people probably can't name their relatives beyond their grandparents or great grandparents.

 

[Silver]

Don't expect the retention of rfid tags to be anything like the Ketchum steel tags.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Silver - the tags are put on the top side of the ear and they actually stay - surprisingly, really well.

 

[Silver]

Silver - the tags are put on the top side of the ear and they actually stay - surprisingly, really well.

That's where I put mine. What happens is the base of the button wears out right where the post joins the back. Then the tag falls out on the ground.

 

[simme]

I see many of the tags placed at the top of the ear in the curvature. Interesting that the official placement per the manufacturer and various states is to place them in the middle of the ear, 1/3 of the distance from the head to the tip. Requires some coordination with ear tattoos when doing that.

 

[Silver]

I see many of the tags placed at the top of the ear in the curvature. Interesting that the official placement per the manufacturer and various states is to place them in the middle of the ear, 1/3 of the distance from the head to the tip. Requires some coordination with ear tattoos when doing that.

In the beginning we put them in as per manufacturers directions but had too many torn out. I have been putting them in the thick top part of the ear for years now but even so when preg checking cows I need to make sure every dry / cull cow has a tag and it's amazing how many need a replacement. It's also amazing how many tags are missing the back but still have just enough flare on the post to keep it from falling out, at least for the moment.

 

[moses388]

New York State must be leading the nation in RFID tags. I would like to see more states offer free RFID tags. Or at least offer a cost-share program for RFID tags.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Right from the get-go, we could BUY them from Valley Vet or other places, but Ag & Mkt offered them free. I actually posted the order form in my newsletter so everyone could get them. I have to admit I was AMAZED they had a booth set up and were passing them out after you filled out their form. Super easy.

 

[Buck Randall]

Don't expect the retention of rfid tags to be anything like the Ketchum steel tags.

Have you had good experiences with the steel tags? I feel like they're more prone to getting infected/falling out than the buttons.

 

[Silver]

Have you had good experiences with the steel tags? I feel like they're more prone to getting infected/falling out than the buttons.

Not particularly. I had more troubles when I put them in as newborns as far as infections. Since I started putting them in as yearlings I've had almost no infections. Biggest thing as far as retention I found is to check to confirm the tag clinched. Sometimes they don't. I'm still waiting for the perfect permanent ID system that's not a tattoo.

 

[JKCattle]

840 tags are free in most states at least for the time being. The metal NUES tags are being phased out. In 2-3 years the metal tags will not be recognized as official ID.