national ID system

[Double R Ranch]

I don't want to cause trouble but this national ID system that seems to be comming may help put the hault to rustlers.

hillbilly

Can anyone tell me a little bit about this? I have heard that it is in the works but not what it is for, if it is manditory and what it means for Ranchers.
Thanks

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

The mandatory ID system is a pain in the neck, mostly. It was instituted in Canada a couple of years ago. It means that all of your cattle, even the real ornery ones need to be tagged before they can ever leave your property. If you get caught driving your cattle to another pasture without your mandatory ID tag, its $1000 fine. All it has done is raised my cost of production by a few $ per head. The tags don't stay in very well and I've had to tag quite a few twice. On the upside if the government needs to track a cow to its herd of origin, they can but it would have been nice if they had chipped in a few $ to cover my costs.

 

[Double R Ranch]

So you are already having to do this. Is it an ear tag?

 

[D.R. Cattle]

I haven't figured out how an ear tag can force traceability. My cow #945 could co-mingle with Joe's cow #945 at the sale barn and they will have to depend on our visual claim to positively identify. Likewise our sale barn doesn't even retain the ear tag #. They slap a USDA sticker on the animals back and that's what is reported to me when they mail the check. Sucks because I can't track weight gain without them reporting my number.

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

So you are already having to do this. Is it an ear tag?

Yes it is an ear tag with a bar code on it that is read by a barcode reader as the animal runs through the chute. The barcode is registered to the person who bought the tags along with the person's land address. It is supposed to be recorded everytime an animal is bought or sold. This way, if there is a problem, they can trace the animal to its farm of origin and know where it has been since. The new ones are supposed to have an electronic chip in them that is supposed to be able to be read from about 3 feet away. They are even more expensive than the bar code ones (@ $5 each) but we may get subsidized for part of that. Still, an extra expense I could have done without at this point in time.

 

[la4angus]

So you are already having to do this. Is it an ear tag?

Yes it is an ear tag with a bar code on it that is read by a barcode reader as the animal runs through the chute. The barcode is registered to the person who bought the tags along with the person's land address. It is supposed to be recorded everytime an animal is bought or sold. This way, if there is a problem, they can trace the animal to its farm of origin and know where it has been since. The new ones are supposed to have an electronic chip in them that is supposed to be able to be read from about 3 feet away. They are even more expensive than the bar code ones (@ $5 each) but we may get subsidized for part of that. Still, an extra expense I could have done without at this point in time.

I agree with you. Another extra expense. But it could have caused both the U.S. of A. and Canada to have saved Millions of $$ in lost revenue due to export markets being lost.

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

It didn't help anything for our export markets. The system was already in place when the Alberta BSE cow was found. It was one of the reasons that they were able to track down the origins of that cow so fast.

 

[sidney411]

D.R -

Do you haul your own calves to the auction? I haul my own calves and when I take them and as they are putting their back tags on I write down my ear tag numbers next to the sale slip they give me so I can match up my weights with my records. It is a pain at times when the trailer is packed but well worth it because my records are more complete and can help me with culling decisions later on.

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Thats exactly what I do Sidney. Then I try to predict their weight and which calf will bring the most per pound, etc. based on my own visual appraisal. Sometimes I'm pretty surprised that the buyers like certain calves much more than I did, or vice versa

 

[heiferhoney]

You might want to check this site out.

http://usaip.info/bovineplan.htm

They are already behind schedule.

 

[heiferhoney]

I haven't figured out how an ear tag can force traceability. My cow #945 could co-mingle with Joe's cow #945 at the sale barn and they will have to depend on our visual claim to positively identify. Likewise our sale barn doesn't even retain the ear tag #. They slap a USDA sticker on the animals back and that's what is reported to me when they mail the check. Sucks because I can't track weight gain without them reporting my number.

There will be a herd/farm prefix on the tags identifying their origin so your 945 and my 945 aren't the same.

When I haul cattle to the stockyards they give me a receipt with the sticker numbers and I always ask when they are writing down the number if they will write the ear tag number down too. They always do. If it's real busy and a lot of trailers are in line to unload I write them down myself on a separate piece of paper as the stickers are being applied.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

D.R -

Do you haul your own calves to the auction? I haul my own calves and when I take them and as they are putting their back tags on I write down my ear tag numbers next to the sale slip they give me so I can match up my weights with my records. It is a pain at times when the trailer is packed but well worth it because my records are more complete and can help me with culling decisions later on.

Yeah I haul my own, but to follow them around at Okeechobee Livestock Market would not be very easy. That place is huge and they are usually unloading 2 or 3 semi loads of cattle while my stock trailer is unloading. If it's only a few culls and they are vastly different, then it's easy to figure out, but if it's a trailer load of calves weighing close to the same forget it. I suppose I could park the trailer and go to the pens assigned to me and then take the numbers one by one. Thanks for the tip.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Yes it is an ear tag with a bar code on it that is read by a barcode reader as the animal runs through the chute. The barcode is registered to the person who bought the tags along with the person's land address.

Now it makes sense. I didn't realize that it was a regulated ear tag.

 

[dun]

At the sale barns in this area they don't tag them anymore. They identify them as x number of head, or BWF heifer, REF cow, etc. The work them as pen lots unless something really doesn't fit in. When you get the check it's for x number of animals or as stated earlier if sold as singles.

dun

 

[Craig-TX]

At the sale barns in this area they don't tag them anymore. They identify them as x number of head, or BWF heifer, REF cow, etc. The work them as pen lots unless something really doesn't fit in. When you get the check it's for x number of animals or as stated earlier if sold as singles.

dun

Maybe I could get used to it but at first blush I don’t cotton to that idea one bit. I like to think my stuff is a little better than the run of the mill and would just as soon put my money where my mouth is and sell each one stand alone. Might get bruised now and then but it’s worth the overall premium. Plus, I like knowing the weights and prices for each individual. I don’t blame you for selling as much as possible through a co-op.

Craig-TX

 

[Anonymous]

The auction yard we take ours to divides by weight, if they are very different, and sells them as a group, like Dun said. There is no way to tell which animal weighed what amount. Unless you take in a single then they get a little sticker glued to their withers, so you would know.

:?: For you guys in Canada :?: On the ID ear tags, what happens if one is lost :?: Does that animal then get a new number or do you file a request to the government for a replacement :?:

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

If the eartag is lost, you get to go buy a new one at $2 each.

 

[Anonymous]

If the eartag is lost, you get to go buy a new one at $2 each.

So that cow will really have 2 numbers :?: Or the replacement has the same number as the old one :?:

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

The cow would have two separate bar codes both registered to your farm

 

[Anonymous]

Ok that part is clear.

Next :?: what happens if she is sold then the tag is lost. Or even sold a couple times.
I'm just trying to understand how this is such a fool proof method.