Dangle tags

[grefer]

A few years back,I purchased cows that had bar coded dangle tags in their ears.These tags are for ever in the road when trying to read my own I.D. tags at calving time etc.Can I put the buttons in these cows and remove the dangle tags if they are cross referenced with each other and reported to CFIA.As well.Is it going to be necessary in the very near future to put a RFID button in each of these cows that have dangle tags anyway.

[ProFarmer]

Just cut out any tag in your road the CFIA or CCIA will never know Keep the broken ones to throw in the bottom of the trailer if you get put through the ringer at one of their check points

[SADIE]

Here I go again by if your cow-herd is in its own private pasture why would you even put in an RFID tag at this time. The data coming in from "cow Calf Victims" since the May 20 pg 75 article Western Producer. It appears to be only a short Time-line tag at best. It has best retention in the younger animal going to market at fall and through the feedlot. Veterinary Clinics that now encouraged herd management last fall advising their producers to RFID their cow-herd are now wishing they hadn't. Those of us that took the initiative in 2006 & 2007 have now got the experience of cows with lost tags, ripped ears, borken back tags, stems broken and are no longer replacing lost tags putting them through the chute.

The bar-code dangle tag is still be honoured by CFIA after that huge CCIA poster blunder fall 2009.

CCIA poster 2009 AS OF JAN 1 2010 ALL CATTLE MUST BE TAGGED WITH A CCIA APPROVED RFID EARTAG

This is a false statement. Only if that animal leaves premise of origin like to auction mart, slaugher house or a pasture of intermingling.

[kato]

Speaking of dangle tags. This is in this week's Manitoba Co-operator.

http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1000372966&PC=FBC&issue=05292010

Bar-coded cattle ID tags de-listed July 1

Any bar-coded dangle tags still hanging from Canadian cattle's ears will officially become plastic jewelry effective July 1.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which was previously expected to de-list bar code tags as of Jan. 1, 2010, said Friday that the bar code tags will be de-listed July 1 in favour of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.

Starting July 1, all cattle must be tagged with approved RFID tags before they move from their current locations or leave their farms of origin.

"Although this change may be an additional one- time process for some producers, the ability to easily capture information from the RFID tags will help all producers in the long run," said Darcy Eddleston, a Paradise Valley, Alta. producer and chairman of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA), in a joint CFIA/CCIA release.

"We have worked with government to move forward on traceability and we believe that de- listing the bar-coded tag will advance traceability initiatives."

Bar-coded dangle tags haven't been available for purchase since 2006. But producers who still have unused dangle tags must not apply them to animals after July 1, the agencies said.

Existing bar-coded tags should not be removed, but left on the ear. An RFID tag must then be applied to the same animal, the agencies said.

Producers who haven't already done so must cross-reference that new RFID tag with the existing bar-coded dangle tag in the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) to make sure all tag data and history on a given animal is maintained. That data includes all events uploaded by the producer against the tag.

Any producer needing help to cross-reference his or her dangle and RFID tags is advised to call the CCIA at 1-877-909-2333. This cross-referencing was previously expected to be done by Dec. 31, 2009.

"RFID technology is critical to advancing the traceability system and maintaining the speed of commerce that our producers require to remain competitive in the marketplace," Travis Toews, a Beaverlodge, Alta. rancher and president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, said in Friday's release.

De-listing of bar code tags, he said, is "an important step in enhancing our national ID and traceability system."

"A strong traceability system will help Canadian producers get the premium prices their top quality products deserve around the world," Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in the same release.

"With RFID technology, we'll be better able to trace an animal, which is not only important to human and animal welfare but also key to the sustainability of the Canadian livestock industry as a whole."