Advanced animal movement tracking has little support among Alberta ranchers.
Alberta Beef Producers passed a resolution to lobby the provincial and federal governments to oppose mandatory livestock tracking, which is part of a larger national food traceability plan.
The industry is already in a good position to track livestock without the extra steps that could prove costly and make Canada less competitive with the United States, said rancher Ed Currie of Youngstown, in eastern Alberta.
“We are in a very good position to trace any critter back to its point of origin,” he told delegates at the beef producers’ annual meeting in Calgary Dec. 7-9.
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“It is going to have a large effect on my business, my family and my neighbours. Livestock movement tracking has no support in the country,” he said.
“The people who have cow manure on their boots are against this.”
Livestock Identification Services records all transactions and brands. As well, all animals wear electronic ear tags so additional tracking is unnecessary he said.
However, the Alberta government is moving toward strengthening traceback with new regulations set to take effect March 1.
The Traceability Cattle Identification Regulation has new tagging requirements for cattle identification and additional reporting when cattle move into feedlots.
Producers must attach approved radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags and register the cattle’s birth date with the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency by the time cattle are 10 months of age. The earlier regulation required this by the time the animals were three months old.
Producers using actual birth dates may use any cattle identifier including a tattoo or dangle tag by three months of age and apply the RFID tag at 10 months of age or when the animal leaves the farm.
Feedlots with more than 1,000 head a year are required to report move-in information to the identification agency. Under the old regulations, feedlots feeding 5,000 or more were required to report movement. This regulation applies only to feedlots, not cow-calf operations.
All Alberta cattle must be age-verified since Jan. 1, 2009, under the Animal Health Act.
Jake Kotowich, manager of the traceability division, said the latest regulations provide producers with more flexibility.
“We still require the producer with actual birth dates to identify that animal in some way within three months and make sure they have a record. They don’t necessarily have to upload the information within three months to CCIA,” he said.
He said the government recognizes producers’ concerns.
“There is a little bit of mistrust out there about what movement really means,” he said.
It is not practical to track animal movement within the cow-calf sector, especially on large operations where cattle are herded across large tracts of land. Instead cattle will be tracked at high volume locations like auction markets with automated panel readers.
The technology is not available to track animals on pasture at this time but the government wants people to realize a brand is not good enough.
“A brand is not an individual identifier. It is a group identifier,” he said.
“Where brands fall short is identifying individual animals in a world where you have to move very quickly if ever a disaster hits like BSE,” he said.
Government funding of up to $3,000 is available for producers to buy hand-held readers and computer software. Grants up to $20,000 are offered for panel readers and more sophisticated monitoring systems at feedlots with 1,000 head or more. Any expenses incurred since April 1 are eligible for grant money.
