No right way to do a wrong thing.

[SADIE]

Right on Happytrails. Up early going to the field. There is an old saying out there:


"There we stood, Three against 10,000 the toughest 3 we ever fought in our lives"

GF and a few "beaurocrats" that are trying to shove traceability down our throats from the top down. This is what happens when the movement comes from the grass-roots back to the top.

GF---Are you in the dark ages because of the "Blickers" you are wearing?

[sagewood]

Well folks, if you think doing the paperwork for an I.D. tag is onerous, how would you like to have to carry a 'passport' for each cow as she moves around the country and record data for her in that? The folks in the British Isles do just that. I think that having an I.D. and a reader is pretty effortless compared to checking paperwork on 100 head of cows everytime they move to a new pasture. I know the paperwork takes a little more time, but if we don't appear to be working at traceability of our livestock then we surely will not get into any more markets. As one wise man I know says 'Perception is reality--facts are negotiable'. So keep a record of all the tags your buy--collect the plastic bags with the #'s on them if that is the best you can do, at least you know what tags you used. I consider myself one of the 'little guys' you talk about and I have complete health records on all my livestock, plus a photo of each and I keep track of who is in herd and who is shipped etc., just for my own records. I know it takes a little time, but believe me, if the CFIA ever audits me again (and I have been audited once in the early days) I can give them all the information they need and then some--that last time they asked for my 'records', they had them the same day--never heard a word from them. If it costs me a little time and effort, I believe it is worth it--further it gives me a better handle on what my cattle are doing in regard to health, production and the like. You cannot improve what you cannot measure, so the addition of paperwork for a tag is no big deal to this 'little guy' in the industry. I am hopeful that the rest of Canada comes up to speed and that we in Canada at least are all on the same playing field with regard to traceability--we have done it for years with regard to herd health, so what's the big deal? Never good to gaze backwards--and then start moving in that direction.

[Happytrails]

Right on Sagewood for your approach to this matter. I owe an apology to people like you who support ID tag movement tracking because they think it is the right thing. However I disagree that what works for you is good as a blanket policy for the industry. In Alberta we already have movement tracking provided by LIS. Now I realize that is not the case in much of the rest of Canada. Maybe the provinces which don't currently have livestock inspection could try the new system to prove that it works. Right now it feels like Alberta is being asked to change because of the shortcomings in other parts of Canada. Is that the tail trying to wag the dog or what? As for not being able to trace the whereabouts of a critter without reading the tags every move we should consider normal operations. Most cattle are born, live a short but carefree life and then are harvested. They usually have either 2 or 3 owners by slaughter. So if traceback is needed we start out knowing either all of its owners or 2 out of 3. A pretty good start I would say. The example of a trader cow with 6 or 7 brands on her is an exception which should be considered comingled with the Canadian herd and probably shared sex partners with many. Thanks for the interest and thanks Sadie for speaking out. HT