Alberta lamb producers will move to the next phase of traceability plans with receipt of a $456,000 grant from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA.)
The lamb traceability project has been underway among lamb producers for several years and the latest grant, announced Aug. 10, will allow them to explore the benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, said Alberta Lamb Producers executive director Margaret Cook.
“Our producers are well positioned now for when traceability takes effect,” she said.
“A lot of the preparation work on traceability has now been done, as far as producers are concerned.”
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The federal government has plans for complete livestock traceability but the timeline for full implementation is not firmly established.
However, various livestock groups have been working toward traceability that would allow quick identification and handling of animal health and food safety issues.
Cook said lamb producers were concerned about costs related to traceability so the association made a point of exploring potential benefits.
It found that RFID would allow “precision flock management,” so producers could, for example, easily identify the best and the worst performing ewes in their flocks.
Though all lamb producers now have to use RFID tags, the choice of making further use of the technology is up to individuals, Cook said.
The association is now lobbying for grants to pay for tag readers and software programs so producers can collect and use flock data.
A tag incentive program, implemented by the Alberta government several years ago, covered the cost of RFID sheep tags for two years.
Lamb producers will use the recent ALMA grant to hire project contractors, educate producers about RFID and finalize software development.
Cook said more information will be available at zone meetings this fall.
The association is seeking more producers and encouraging flock expansion by existing producers to meet domestic demand.
“We did see an expansion last year of four percent in breeding ewes and a huge expansion in retention of ewe lambs so that’s really encouraging for next year.”
