Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Health & Nutrition
Pro's and Con's of Electronic ID
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Brandonm22" data-source="post: 613137" data-attributes="member: 7645"><p>Pro</p><p></p><p>"1. Being able to trace both good and bad product back to the owner/producer."</p><p></p><p>True but if both good and bad producers are comingling their trailer loads at the sale barn, I don't see how you use the information.</p><p> </p><p>"2. Make the commercial cattle raiser aware of what he/she is raising and to improve carcass traits"</p><p></p><p>As Dun has already stated, it is very difficult to get that data back and unless you are a seedstock producer or are trying to enroll your calves into some sort of premium program I don't see where the data is worth paying for it.</p><p></p><p>"3. Make the cattle raiser stand behind his/her product and weed out the undersireables."</p><p></p><p>We dock bad or undesirable calves every time they run through the ring and still they keep coming. Down here MOST of the males calves still come through the barn with nuts. The average producer has ~25 cows so most people DON'T make their living off of their brood cows. If there are ~1000 calves at the salebarn monday and if you figure 10 calves on avg per producer that means a 100 producers. Do you really think that an order buyer who needs to fill two potloads out of that sale has the time/ability to sort through all that data even IF it somehow was wirelessly downloading into his laptop????</p><p> </p><p>"4. Make the commercial cattle raiser aware that not only are you being paid for lbs produced, but the quality of those pounds."</p><p></p><p>According to the Stockyard Report in the December 'Alabama Cattleman', in October Med & Lrg steers weighing an avg of 326 lbs brought an avg of $400.65, 363 lbs - $412.22, 425 lbs - $442.34, 454 lbs - $445.10, 520 lbs - $476.06, 570 lbs - $496.64, 628 lbs - $529.15, 674 - $559.29, and 730 - $598.02. Those who got those heavier weights typically did their job right, kept their cows milking and in good condition, probably kept minerals out, probably supplemented their cows in winter, probably preconditioned and fence line weaned their calves, probably dewormed and vaccinated his calves, etc and they only got ~$197 ($49 cents a pound) for their effort over the guy who unloaded a trailer load of lite calves who were weaned the morning of the sale and probably never got a shot or saw a mineral feeder. The market is sending the signal that it wants numbers not pounds and not necessarily quality.</p><p></p><p>"5. Being able to compare those who do a poor job to those who does a great job."</p><p></p><p>Again that works in theory, we are waiting for it out here in the real world.</p><p></p><p>"6. Being able to trace the management of any calf from birth, to stocker, to feed yard, to slaughter; for the consumer."</p><p></p><p>Traceback WILL allow us to track down any disease outbreak to the source yes. PROBABLY the strongest argument for mandatory EID; but it likely won't be implemented in the next ten years though and if it is how many cattle herds in this country will just disappear???</p><p></p><p>"7. Increased awareness of how health, nutrtion, reproduction, and genetics play important roles in producing an animal with a quality carcass."</p><p></p><p>I got real doubts as to how many typical part time commercial cow producers can even interpret the data, if they get the data, even if the data shows a correlation between quality grade and feeder calf price.</p><p></p><p>"8. Track use of hormones and poor injection site users in beef cattle operations across the US. (which are many)"</p><p></p><p>I don't see how we can track hormones. Unless you take the time to cut the implant out of the ear I don't see how anybody is going to identify which carcass was implanted and which wasn't given that the hormones are the same in both. If we started punishing people back on the farm for injection site blemishes, I think we only discourage them from vaccinating and deworming and if the calf has been at a backgrounder, then a feedlot, I would argue that any blemishes came on their end.</p><p></p><p>"9. Track those producers that incorporate Best Management Practices (BMP) into their operations using programs like BQA."</p><p></p><p>See number 8.</p><p></p><p>"10. Paid premiums for operators using BMP's and EID."</p><p></p><p>We will cheer them when we see them (if we see them).</p><p></p><p>"11. Consumer approval"</p><p></p><p>I have seen polls where 20-30% of the consumers don't know what animal they are eating when they order a burger or a steak. I am not convinced that they even understand what mandatory EID is, much less are willing to (knowingly) pay 10 cents a pound for it.</p><p></p><p>"12. Cattle industry in the US would have only "20 breeds or even 5" in production instead of 120"</p><p></p><p>I don't necessarily see decreasing genetic diversity as a good thing; but if I think that Black Baldies bring more at the salebarn why wouldn't I just input "Angus/Hereford cross" into the EID tags of my white faced Simmental x black Salers calves???</p><p></p><p>I am not telling somebody to not EID their calves or not to use best management practices. I certainly would like to see more of both; but I don't think it is quite the panacea that you seem to be promising here.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Brandonm22, post: 613137, member: 7645"] Pro "1. Being able to trace both good and bad product back to the owner/producer." True but if both good and bad producers are comingling their trailer loads at the sale barn, I don't see how you use the information. "2. Make the commercial cattle raiser aware of what he/she is raising and to improve carcass traits" As Dun has already stated, it is very difficult to get that data back and unless you are a seedstock producer or are trying to enroll your calves into some sort of premium program I don't see where the data is worth paying for it. "3. Make the cattle raiser stand behind his/her product and weed out the undersireables." We dock bad or undesirable calves every time they run through the ring and still they keep coming. Down here MOST of the males calves still come through the barn with nuts. The average producer has ~25 cows so most people DON'T make their living off of their brood cows. If there are ~1000 calves at the salebarn monday and if you figure 10 calves on avg per producer that means a 100 producers. Do you really think that an order buyer who needs to fill two potloads out of that sale has the time/ability to sort through all that data even IF it somehow was wirelessly downloading into his laptop???? "4. Make the commercial cattle raiser aware that not only are you being paid for lbs produced, but the quality of those pounds." According to the Stockyard Report in the December 'Alabama Cattleman', in October Med & Lrg steers weighing an avg of 326 lbs brought an avg of $400.65, 363 lbs - $412.22, 425 lbs - $442.34, 454 lbs - $445.10, 520 lbs - $476.06, 570 lbs - $496.64, 628 lbs - $529.15, 674 - $559.29, and 730 - $598.02. Those who got those heavier weights typically did their job right, kept their cows milking and in good condition, probably kept minerals out, probably supplemented their cows in winter, probably preconditioned and fence line weaned their calves, probably dewormed and vaccinated his calves, etc and they only got ~$197 ($49 cents a pound) for their effort over the guy who unloaded a trailer load of lite calves who were weaned the morning of the sale and probably never got a shot or saw a mineral feeder. The market is sending the signal that it wants numbers not pounds and not necessarily quality. "5. Being able to compare those who do a poor job to those who does a great job." Again that works in theory, we are waiting for it out here in the real world. "6. Being able to trace the management of any calf from birth, to stocker, to feed yard, to slaughter; for the consumer." Traceback WILL allow us to track down any disease outbreak to the source yes. PROBABLY the strongest argument for mandatory EID; but it likely won't be implemented in the next ten years though and if it is how many cattle herds in this country will just disappear??? "7. Increased awareness of how health, nutrtion, reproduction, and genetics play important roles in producing an animal with a quality carcass." I got real doubts as to how many typical part time commercial cow producers can even interpret the data, if they get the data, even if the data shows a correlation between quality grade and feeder calf price. "8. Track use of hormones and poor injection site users in beef cattle operations across the US. (which are many)" I don't see how we can track hormones. Unless you take the time to cut the implant out of the ear I don't see how anybody is going to identify which carcass was implanted and which wasn't given that the hormones are the same in both. If we started punishing people back on the farm for injection site blemishes, I think we only discourage them from vaccinating and deworming and if the calf has been at a backgrounder, then a feedlot, I would argue that any blemishes came on their end. "9. Track those producers that incorporate Best Management Practices (BMP) into their operations using programs like BQA." See number 8. "10. Paid premiums for operators using BMP's and EID." We will cheer them when we see them (if we see them). "11. Consumer approval" I have seen polls where 20-30% of the consumers don't know what animal they are eating when they order a burger or a steak. I am not convinced that they even understand what mandatory EID is, much less are willing to (knowingly) pay 10 cents a pound for it. "12. Cattle industry in the US would have only "20 breeds or even 5" in production instead of 120" I don't necessarily see decreasing genetic diversity as a good thing; but if I think that Black Baldies bring more at the salebarn why wouldn't I just input "Angus/Hereford cross" into the EID tags of my white faced Simmental x black Salers calves??? I am not telling somebody to not EID their calves or not to use best management practices. I certainly would like to see more of both; but I don't think it is quite the panacea that you seem to be promising here. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Health & Nutrition
Pro's and Con's of Electronic ID
Top