| 2001 Cattle Feeders
Annual -- Animal ID |
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Full Steam Ahead? |
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By Wes Ishmael |
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Like it or not, dollars say individual animal identification will be a growing part
of the cattle business. If you believe in profit potential leading the parade of change, then you have to bet on the fact that some sort of voluntary, standardized, nationwide, cattle identification system is going to emerge within the beef industry sooner than later. "Economics will drive it, simply because there is so much variation and the only way we think we can make change in a positive way is if we can manage cattle individually, and that will require individual identification," explains Lemmy Wilson of Newport, Tenn. Besides owning cattle marketing and backgrounding enterprises, Wilson also serves as chairman of the Live Cattle Market-ing Committee for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) which passed a resolution in February 2001 favoring a voluntary national cattle ID system. TCFA supports the resolution. "If you are backgrounding 1,000 steers, for example, it's amazing what the top 10% will do compared to the bottom 10%," says Wilson. "If we could get rid of that bottom 10% and replace it with cattle like the top 10%, it changes the economics of this business completely." Indeed. John Todd, ranch administrator for Florida-based Rollins Ranches, one of the nation's 10 largest cow/calf operations began to see just how dramatic the economic potential could be when Rollins committed to tagging every cow, calf and bull on their ranches in 1998. "Because of the individual identification, we netted $36 per head last year. If you take out the bottom 13% of the herd that are not performing at least at breakeven level, our profit goes up to $115 per head," explains Todd. Even with all of the hardware-everything from electronic scales, to electronic identification ear tags (EID), to chute-side scanners and laptops-Todd explains, "It more than paid for itself the first year based just on how the cattle performed and how we could track and sort the cattle." Since Rollins Ranches first got its feet wet tracking some calves through the feedlot in 1997, they've literally tagged and followed tens of thousands of animals from their ranches. Now, Todd says he can't wait for the next set of data. That's because he believes they've yet to even scratch the potential of what's possible tracking individuals back to sire and cow groups, then sorting and managing them accordingly through backgrounding, grazing, feedlot and packing house. So, Why Isn't Everybody Doing It? If the fruits of individual identification were this apparent to everyone-and a standardized national ID system were available that would allow information to be shared seamlessly across segments no matter what particular tags or data handlers a person used -vocal chords would be a lot less raw in the industry today. In a nutshell, although most folks would admit that the industry attitude toward ID has shifted dramatically in favor of such systems within the last several years, there is no question that plenty of healthy skepticism still exists. Moreover, confusion about related issues has left even would-be proponents scratching their heads. Those issues include liability, information privacy, the compatibility of existing but diverse technology and conflicting perceptions about what a national ID system would and wouldn't enable in the world of animal health monitoring. "Everyone wants to position individual identification for something else," says Dr. Bill Mies, professor of animal science with Texas A&M University. "My personal prejudice is that individual ID should be used if it makes us money. On a cow/calf basis it's absolutely necessary if I'm going to manage individual cows. I think it will be driven by economics but not everyone wants to manage that intensely." Incidentally, Mies also emphasizes another point that has clouded the debate: "I'm talking about individual ID. That's not a synonym for electronic ID. EID is a type of individual identification; it applies in some situations and in some it doesn't." Starting at the Start With this multi-faceted cloud of confusion in mind, Todd says, "Whether or not we have a national ID system is an issue that needs to be addressed after we have some standards developed." In other words, estimating the value of a national system is like chasing shadows in the dark until standards can be developed and are adopted for everything from numbering systems, to ear tags, to the hardware used in collecting and transmitting individual data. In fact, that is exactly the charge given to NCBA's subcommittee for animal identification standardization, which Todd leads. "We exist to establish identification standards that can be utilized by producers and vendors across the industry to enhance the profitability of individual cattle operations, thus improving the profitability as a whole," says Todd. So, Todd explains the focus is on developing standards that would allow producers to voluntarily utilize individual identification in the name of profit, period. Whether or not these standards result in a system or collection of private industry systems that also serve other purposes such as national animal health monitoring is secondary. "We have included USDA in our discussions to look at coming up with a standardized numbering system," says Todd. "But, a numbering system is not going to do anything for animal health. Individual animal ID is not the answer to something like BSE. It's merely a tool to help us seek answers to the questions we are asking." At least anecdotally, a broad spectrum of the industry from cow/calf producers to feedyards to packers seems to be in favor of this concept. At the animal identification symposium hosted by Todd's subcommittee in February 2001, the 300 or so in attendance were surveyed about whether or not they would participate in a voluntary system. By an overwhelming margin, Wilson says the verdict was, "Full steam ahead." Where to From Here? By NCBA's annual meeting in 2002 or the summer session following it, Todd says his subcommittee plans to have standards and recommendations ready for industry consideration. During the journey he says he's hopeful that the handful of vendors who have the tags, hardware and information systems currently used by the industry will be willing to discuss and adopt standards that would allow producers to use any system they choose and still participate in a common national system. In the meantime, as the U.S. Administration was changing hands, USDA was in the midst of drafting a proposed rule for the Federal Register that would establish an American ID numbering system-a standardized 12-character alpha-numeric system-that could be utilized by all species of livestock in the nation. The Holstein industry already utilizes this numbering system. And according to folks in the previous Administration, both the Angus and Shorthorn breeds had already applied for blocks of numbers out of the system. As well, for folks wondering about the liability issue, NCBA is exploring the possibilities of product liability insurance for producers. But, even without insurance, Wilson says, "About the best defense we have in the cattle business is to keep good records and do things right." Specifically, Todd explains, "If someone accuses me of having a problem with my cattle and I have the ability to take out my records and show them my processes and protocol that prove I don't have a problem, then I'm protected." Besides, anyone thinking the government can't track his cattle back to him without a national ID system is fooling himself. Although it's an arduous process, USDA records indicate only 16% of the carcasses in violation of drug residues last year could not be traced to the last farm of ownership. Whether or not, or when, all of these standards and questions are hammered out, Todd believes economics should lead producers to dive into individual information now rather than waiting. "Every moment that passes by you're missing the opportunity to discover information about the cattle that you could never know before without individual identification," Todd explains. "With our cattle, we're seeing things that from a traditional view point, you'd think if this is true, then that must also be true, but that's not necessarily the case." Likewise, Wilson says, "I think we are on the threshold of individual animal management in this industry. No one will have a monopoly on the information; it's too important to chop up." For anyone wanting to launch into the world of individual cattle information, from experience, Todd suggests spending more time setting goals for what you want to accomplish with the information and how you intend to use it than sifting through the offerings of various vendors. "It just all boils down to the end that if we can identify and determine the economic ability of an individual, or the lack thereof, then it's pretty easy to start making decisions," says Wilson.
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