“These are the times that try men's souls.” | So Corbitt brought it up NCBA is going to be pushing it again.
https://youtu.be/oxrZ0LBZ9h8?si=Sc0CsGrEk-nkYhT4
I use RFID technology to sell program calves, its for me and the buyer to market further down the line. I've felt it's paid the last few years. However is it cost effective for everyone? No it's not, it's economy of scale to make it worth while.
Biggest problems is cost of verification of records, and unless on a national program that every vet, brand inspector, state health inspector can download those records real time in pickup at roadside it's worthless in my opinion. Then the cheap tags that don't stay in more than 24 hours. I've had the cheap RFID tags installed by vet, bought by the state fail. State admitted poor tags and failed retention, they were used in the bangs program for breeding stock.
Tags can be cut out, lost they are not a end all fix. If a replacement tag has to be put in animal who pays cost to install, and update records. That has been thrown on producer, to be done by vet, then vet has to send records in. Someone has to pay. Well if the miss homemaker feels she needs animal ID to have safe hamburger, then she needs to pay for it. We already have health inspection on kill floors.
I get it number one push for ID is for over seas sales and branded products here. So if you want to be program cattle, then fine as a producer I'll pay to do it if I want to sell there. But buyer has to make it worth my while.
I will tell in order to use the government LIP program for loss on calves last spring. Only way FSA office would accept our records for loses was with spreadsheet and the use of RFID tag numbers in the state of Idaho. Utah FSA was willing to accept handwritten records. A total of 30 miles difference between the two offices. Was also given heck over not having recorded temps for loss records. Yet we have no weather stations within 50 miles of us.
So just warning if you need to apply for those programs in future you might need to have own weather data, be it pictures of your own thermometer readings with time & date on it. RFID would be a plus. I don't want to get into debate about programs, I would love to have a free market system where we didn't need LIP, CRP, CSP, etc. Can't begin to list them them all. Government has gotten fingers in all of it, until the Packers Stockyards Act is enforced its a mute point. No way to clean the corruption out.
I've got two sons that work in the industry that deal with animal ID on a daily basis I hear their frustrations daily with state run programs and faulty tags.
Also on my level I kept my animal ID records for branded programs I paid to store data. Sent my records with calf buyers on shipping. Then to have company call me trying to trace down one tag number. Wondering if it was one of my tags! No where was the tag in my list nor my possession ever. So what good did it do to have third party verification?
We are switching cow herd to RFID tags over time. One because we need USDA ID for bangs program if we want to sell breeding stock. Second for ease of doing health records because we need them along with brand records to move cattle across state lines twice a year. I can see in future if you need to use government programs it will be made mandatory. However if person administrating the program doesn't understand cattle and your operation you can falsely make up records. All my cow records can be traced back to federal land grazing permits, and or private grazing lands to prove ownership along with vet records.
Just another thing to make my head hurt, but it's nice to have kids that use the technology, ie. readers to make lists. My sons are helping other ranches keep their lists for their records.
But only way for your vet to keep costs down in doing bangs records is with RFID technology today. It so speeds up, but as far as theft goes it does nothing to help you if thief cuts tags out.
Edited by Russ In Idaho 1/19/2024 09:04
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Well just as stir the pot, mandatory animal I D.
