SASKATOON — Saskatchewan beef producers have been slow to sign on to the province’s premises identification database.
Agriculture minister Lyle Stewart launched the voluntary online program last June. At that time, 1,400 producers had already registered through the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency.
As of late January, 1,948 were registered, or about 13 percent of the province’s beef producers.
Stewart told the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference that there had been 100 percent registration in the pork and poultry sectors.
“To date we haven’t had the same uptake in registration from beef producers,” he said.
Read Also
Beef check-off collection system aligns across the country
A single and aligned check-off collection system based on where producers live makes the system equal said Chad Ross, Saskatchewan Cattle Association chair.
“I want to stress the importance of this safeguard. Once the database is fully populated, premises identification will become a critical tool.”
PID, as it’s known, would be used to notify producers in the case of a disease outbreak or potential disaster. A unique number is assigned to a land location to be able to reach producers quickly.
“Please make this a priority and take the opportunity to register,” Stewart said.
He told reporters that registering with the database is probably one of those things that producers put off until another day. It takes about 10 minutes online and is free.
“Cattle producers are an independent lot, and that’s not a bad thing,” he said. “But in the case of a disease outbreak or an emergency, it really helps the reputation of our whole industry if we can locate that and isolate it very quickly.”
Saskatchewan’s PID remains voluntary even though cattle organizations have called for a mandatory system.
