Animal identification has been on my mind the past few months, ever since USDA announced they want you all to start using radio-frequency ID (RFID) tags instead of the metal bangs tags you get today. Seems like we’ve rolled back to 2010 when USDA was starting the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). This was to be a mandatory identification system that failed miserably because most ranchers couldn’t see the value. Some thought the information they would need to provide was too private, like premises registration.
USDA wants to get ahead of disease traceability. And I suppose that I can’t blame them. We have good technology for the job so let’s use it. They have purchased millions of the 840 button tags to distribute to ranchers for free; the switch is to take place in 2023. Colorado’s state veterinarian announced last week they will start distributing those tags for free.
There are lots of other benefits from using these RFID tags on your calves. Okay, it might cost you $2 per head down the road. There are a lot of producers who have started using them to verify a host of attributes on their calves—NHTC, Natural, the list goes on.
We are the only country in North America that doesn’t have a national animal ID tracing system. Canada has been using one since the early 2000s and Mexico started a program about 10 years ago. With as much live cattle trade as we have with those two countries, wouldn’t you think we should use one?
One would also think that the opponents of country-of-origin labeling would jump on board to use this technology. There would be no doubt about whether that steer or heifer was born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. It would give those beef companies the opportunity to find out if consumers really will pay for that information.
Even Namibia in Africa, recently allowed to start shipping beef to the U.S., has a quota of about 850 metric tons. Not much. But they even use RFID tags so they can isolate cattle that come down with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
Just think how quickly we could isolate cattle if we had an outbreak of FMD. We would want to make sure we know what region of the country has FMD so we could keep other areas clean and continue selling beef overseas. A whole country shutdown would be brutal. Remember the BSE event and how long it took to get our markets back?
Then there is also inventory management. If all the calves that come off these ranches had RFID tags we could know exactly the number of cattle in feedyards, how many were placed in feedyards and how many were marketed. You could have that information any time you want it. And for your own on the ranch inventory management, a $2 investment for a $800 calf seems like a good insurance against loss.
Today most major beef-producing countries have an electronic ID system. It’s a condition of doing business with many countries. We have been told that China demands age- and source-verified beef, and no ractopamine. Perhaps that is why they have accelerated their beef imports.
I can certainly understand that there are a lot of passive cattle producers out there, especially in the eastern part of the country who wouldn’t be able to comply. Squeeze chutes and head gates are in short supply. But this is where market forces take over. If calves aren’t tagged or vaccinated prior to sale, they will naturally be worthless. I’m always surprised how many intact bull calves I see going through Southeast auction markets. There are quite a few producers who buy those high-risk calves and straighten them out, then sell them to feedyards when they are good and healthy.
So, who is going to keep all this data? So far, it’s looking like the states are and some of the third-party verification companies. There is also a lot of support for an outfit called U.S. CattleTrace, which is an open industry tracking outfit and is supported by USDA, livestock markets, feedyards, and the NCBA, which supports an animal tracking system in their five-year plan. A board of directors keeps an eye on the project.
I think we’re at a point in time when we need to embrace this new technology, which isn’t all that new. There are just too many positive aspects to ignore. So, when USDA goes to electronic bangs tags instead of the metal ones, just go with the flow and be a professional. — PETE CROW
