Microchips to help Argentina’s beef exports

Argentina’s push to ramp up agriculture exports is moving to a new frontier: micro-chipped cattle. A report on the Bloomberg News website cited Jorge Dillon, the president of the country’s agricultural sanitary service, noting that for the first time Argentina’s government will work to promote the technology to increase the traceability of supplies and make beef shipments more attractive to potential buyers in the U.S. and Asia. Currently, farmers use colored ear tags to manually track cattle. Microchips, and the accompanying digital tracking, would eliminate errors that arise from monitoring animal movement with paperwork, Dillon said. The technology can pave the way for Argentina to sell its beef to countries with even the most stringent import requirements, he said. Shipments to the U.S. have been banned since 2001 because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The microchip system will initially be voluntary because the cost would be too high for small-scale farmers with fewer than 100 cattle, Dillon said. U.S. inspectors visited Argentine slaughterhouses in December. American officials requested extra information on sanitary controls and Argentina responded. If the inspectors are happy with the clarifications, approval could be imminent, he said.