Classic example of feedlot vs. cowcalf

[littledoggie]

What better way to add value to a $3.00 tag then through the information that is attached to it? Costs flow from top down, why not value? Cow/calf producers need to somehow maintain ownership of their information. Traceability IS cheap insurance for gov't, while they still have BSE egg on their faces. I fear gov't having too much involvement in our industry, but at the same time see that traceability is insurance for us as well. BUT, since 90% of food safety issues occur at slaughter and beyond, it seems to me that traceability is on the wrong side of the packing plant.

In regards to check off - I thought the whole point of check off was so we could have a well funded voice. This is exactly what the guys up the chain from the c/c guy want. Fragmentation.

[Happytrails]

These last posts that refer to ID tag scanning being cheap insurance for the government make me wonder if things are a lot worse than I thought. In my simple little world the party with the most to lose in a cattle disease outbreak is the producer. I thought that was us. Or are we regressing to feudalism or marxism? I hope not, and if not the priority insurance needs are ours. Saying that the government needs us to scan ID tags for their insurance is a dumb way to support a bad idea. Our main insurance need is to not be regulated out of existence. HT

[grassfarmer]

Its based on the simple assumption that Government would compensate for loss as is always the case with compulsory slaughter. I think if there were 2 or 3 million cattle slaughtered in a disease outbreak the stoic cowboys at ABP would be out with the begging cap.

[Happytrails]

We could have been scanning ID tags for the last 50 years and prevented exactly nil cattle culls. This scam has nothing to do with disease control and everything to do with power, control, and money. HT