BIXS up and running.

[Happytrails]

This might be common knowledge among those deeply involved but it was news to me.

I happened upon a beef cattle seminar at the Farm and Ranch show in Edmonton on Friday afternoon. Charlie Gracie, Larry Thomas and a couple of others spoke. The talk that got my attention was Larry's update on the BIXS progress. He said that from now on we can age verify our calves thru BIXS. They will then pass the information along to the cattle identification agency and also send the grading information for our cattle back to us.

Larry says that he has all the big packers reporting grading information connected to each RFID tag. He thinks he will get data on 86% of the Canadian kill.

I think this is pretty big news that should affect all cow-calf operators. Some of the big calves from 2011 are hitting the plants about now so the grading data on them will be available by giving BIXS your RFID tag #'s. And this years calves will be done automatically if you age verify thru BIXS.

BTW they announced the seminar to the 100 plus people who were watching a horse trainer start a colt. I went over and there were maybe a dozen who took in the cattle seminar. Oh well, each to their own. Actually I wish I could have done both but at least the better half got to watch the trainer start the colt. Good luck calving.

[grassfarmer]

Maybe its a trick to get you to tag and age verify? I
see they even suggest you apply for a premise ID.

[ALLFARMER]

I am sure I am going to get jumped on for saying
this but as a cow calf producer do I really care? If
the packers don't like the animal I produce
discount it and the feedlots will follow and
eventually I might change. This is a commodity
beef market, not high end specially produced
beef. Run of the mill stuff for run of the mill price.
If they want a value chain motivate me monetarily.
Sounds like their beef buyer complaining about
the use of implants. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY
FOR!

[nicolaas]

Maybe in the future you will get a premium from the packer for animals that grade well? I am sure we can all better ourselves and our herds.

[smcgrath76]

First - I think BIXS is a good thing generally, although I don't necessarily agree with all of the
decisions surrounding it. I have 2 years worth of calves in BIXS and it took me almost 10 minutes to
do it. No cost to me, no risk to me, and I might get some data back.
That said, I don't plan to change our cowherd dramatically because of BIXS or packer data. When you
are not feeding the cattle you don't have any way of knowing if a calf didn't grade because he got
sick, or was shipped on a stormy day, or sat on a truck for hours at the plant. If you get your data
back and a lot were on the same kill date then you might get some good relativity for your herd.
We are looking at retained ownership pretty seriously at the moment and that would drive our selection
in a slightly different bent than if we sold weaned calves (we have been selecting with this in mind
for several years). To be brutally honest, I am not sure why a packer would pay a premium for weaned
calves. We all assume our cattle are "better" but we know at least 1/2 the cattle have to be below
average, lots are not vaccinated properly, and several even have poor genetic makeup. The trick is
knowing your cattle and segregating the marketplace to find where they fit the best (although some
will need a total revamp). We have always been able to get carcass and feedlot data, but most of us
are not willing to own calves past the farm gate. A lot of us are even unwilling to market calves
beyond taking them to a pre-sort and yet want a premium price.
I think the information may create some opportunities in the marketplace, but we are a bit like little
kids in our approach. Ford raised my truck, but they don't want a written report of where I drive it
everyday. If they did, then I guess they should pay for it. We are paying for BIXS through taxpayer
funding, but eventually I think if we (cow/calf) want the data we will be forced to pay for it one way
or another. The only caveat to that is if cattle supplies get even shorter, there may be some wiggle
room, but I am sure even then that the cost will hide in the bid price. BIXS may create opportunities
for us to work with like minded producers to do a much better job of marketing our cattle and that is
kind of exciting to me, but few realize that it takes 1500 cows to fill a 600 head modern feedlot pen
with calves of the same weight/sex.

[Happytrails]

Seans words "I have 2 years worth of calves in BIXS and it took me almost 10 minutes to
do it. No cost to me, no risk to me, and I might get some data back."

I guess that was the only purpose of my post--to point out that BIXS is available at virtually no expense or bother. Hard to say what use we will make of it in the future.

I think Larry said that it will be free for 2 years and then it will likely cost us something. I got to thinking later that if they take over the duties that the CFIA are presently doing we could scrap it, save the cost, and soften the blow a bit.

[grassfarmer]

HT, You seem to be confusing the roles of CFIA and
CCIA.

[smcgrath76]

HT - i agree with trying it out because
it's basically free and no risk. I am
not sure we will be able ot gain value
out of it at the cow/calf level without
changing marketing practices. If the
information we get back makes us want to
change and lessens the risk then that is
great. I think like many things it
would be easier to change in a down
market than in the current environment.
I am hoping it works and we get back our
data, and would strongly encourage
people to participate.

[Happytrails]

Totally GF I got my acronyms crossed. CFIA is another discussion completely.