so im gonna throw this out there .....

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dieselbeef

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i went to the cattle calf class. And it got me to thinking about this.

since back grounding really isn't worth anything to the feedlot because they have no way of knowing whether I did it or not. the only thing they look for is castrated big boned cattle as close to a yr as they can guess. you can argue this but that's what was told to us by the owner of the lot here.

since a lot of us cannot produce a potload or come together with other local producers I would like to know this..and some of it is already implemented by the salebarn but not by the producer.
why do we not or the barn not...inject a chip into the cows like they use to track my dog with my name address and an id number. if that animal passed an automatic scanner at every so many steps f the way then I could track my animal all the way to the carcass grade. then I could download my info from a usda or another database and use it to my advantage at the barn with the buyers to say..look..heres how my animals performed all the way from here to the rail in Kansas. they were bigger here..less shrink and moved thru the feedlot quicker. almost all of the animals leaving florida are sonogrammed for backfat to determine whether theyre ready to ship or not..time on the lot is in 30 day increments so I think if they fed them for 30 days less that would make my calfs more attractive too.

if it was an extra 5$ per animal to implement this how many of you would do it. those of you that are large producers can already retain ownership due to the size of the shipping lots..us little guys are left out of showing off

flame away but I think id opt in for 5$ just to see how my animals do all the way to the rail...

of course you might find out yer animals suck too....
 
Same concept as premise id that is already implemented with tags. cost is biggest factor and 1 out of 20 might be willing to do it. We would be better served to get rid of the monopoly that the packers have and get DC to limit imports and that would cure the pricing woes
 
We used to retain ownership. The biggest problem with getting back the data is the feedlot/slaughterhouse has to be willing to gather the data and make it available. That boils down to bucks for them.
Most salebarns around here have sales expressly for pre-conditioned calves, those typically bring more dollars and make it worth while for the producer. I just had a brain fart and can;t remember the company that use vaccines from. They have a vaccination and backgrounding program that you receive id type deals from that shows what was done and when. Those also help goose the price a bit at regualr sales.
 
One issue with using a microchip is the chance of it moving in meat animals where it shouldn't be, is a concern. It could happen. That is why the RFID tags.

This is something that could be done, and we have a program pretty much detailed and outlined (with page screen shots), but it takes $$$$ to get it written, that would be able to track from conception to consumption. The program has many other benefits to producers and everyone that owns the cattle thru the production chain.

It is one of those things that not everyone is going to do it. And we have even heard of some that if they purchase cattle with RFID tags, they will cut them out (even when the tag is marked "unlawful to remove". And as dun said, the processing plant sees this as additional $, says it slows down the flow and they can't process as many animals per hour. Another issue with the processing plant is non-English speaking workers.

This is a good plan, and we had even spoke to someone at the USMEF and something like this could also help and aid in being able to export US beef into some countries. This is especially true of countries that require Halal verified meat.
 
it would be a nominal cost..everything gets scanned automatically here at work so fast you cannot even see it. a scanner in the chutes where they load or unload them could do it without any human intervention. easy upload into a database automatically. so I could access it thru my name to track my animals.
rfid tags is done by the barn at their cost and they have to input the info instead of just popping a chip into the cows neck..or some other part of it not as likely to make it into consumption...
I relate it to the same thing as my dogs microchip..any vey knows whose dog it is..and the county makes me do it
 
We have a retained ownership program here through UGA form farm to slaughter. Maybe UF has the same kind of thing available to you?
In the end we the consumer pay the price for everything.
 
The packers refuse to do any thing of any help to any one but them selves. I wold agree that the RFID tag is a great way to collect data, and language on a line is of no problem. Lines can be automated, or manual inputs in the language of the operator.

Here we have to use rfid tags, but they are great as a management tool.
 
Heres the biggest problem with the id tags. The average calf changes ownership numerous times between weaning and slaughter. Your average rancher, at least around here, weans his calves at the sale barn and that's the last he knows about them. Then an order buyer buys them, takes them to his place sorts them into groups of other like cattle for different orders and gets em "straight". Then they go on grass or wheat till for a while, then they end up at the feedlot. They change hand so many times its hard for the tag to not get cut out along the way or a tag to get put in midway.
 
I like the idea. I would do it. I am not in a position to finish any yet, but I would love to have some numbers. I sell to a backgrounder who retains ownership. He gets the reports on every head he sends, but he is tight with the numbers. I have offered to pay for the info, 10 bucks/hd, on my calves. Aint heard a word more about it, but he would most likely buy every calf I raise. So, that tells me at the very least that they are not costing him money. Me knowing how good they are is not in his best interest. There is a ADT man here that will either: buy my calves after 45 days weaned, and sell the info back; integrate my calves into a pen, split costs with the other owners prorated and I get my own numbers back, but I have to use his mineral, feed, etc for them to "qualify". It's all a racket. I still won't know my conversion, that would be on the pen as a whole.
 
Most of the resistance comes from the fear that there cattle are not as good as they think. The info would take all the bluster and hype out of selling. If the buyers had the last years info on your cattle, would it help or hurt?
 
Age and source verification is pretty simple to set up. I've never done it for anyone as most cattlemen that are interested in it have someone else handle it but some AI techs can set it up for you. The problem that you run into is that it's of limited value if no one else in your area does it. The buyers know what it is but it's only of value to them if they can put together a set of cattle.
 
its not about source verification..the rfid tags do that..it will be worse soon..that I know for sure

what I want is a microchip in the animal like the dogs get. I want to be able to pull up the last location and the information on my calf from a national database. I would like to see what It ended up grading on the rail and when.

all it would take is a scanner at the feedlot..then one at the slaughter house...all of it can be uploaded at the end of each day to a usda database..or wherever its maintained. its so simple its not true..really

I could register just like on this forum and pull up my calfs info. would it matter if anyone else looked at my info..no I don't think so so we wouldn't need a secure id number for the animal...

if they were inj at the barn before the ring they could easily supply me the number on my sale sheet receipt and not only would I know but the nosey dang govt and anyone else interested could look at the trends on my animals

if yer calfs suck..well then youll know why...if you deserve more at the barn youll have the info to show it when they come to the barn
 
$$$$$$$

You willing to take a large dock to pay for this? The feedlots and packers sure aren't going to be willing. They could careless that you want to know what happen to a calf you sold 6 months ago.
And do you really want the Government collecting all that data?

Snowden all over again...
 
doesn't have to be the govt..cattle fax can do it..it benefits everyone..they can always say..dieselbeefs calfs suck..bargain time....it can work both ways I think///im sure it can be done for 10$/hd..make it voluntary...soon as a feedlot figures out they can dock me for poor marbling at the rail..theyll embrace an idea like this
 

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