Rules?

[grassfarmer]

A couple of things i've noticed in the last day or two have surprised me:

1. Doug Horner on the radio urging Alberta producers to apply under the calf setaside program before the cut off date of January 15th. With every indication the border will open well ahead of October why is he rushing to spend more taxpayer money on this program?
2. A retailer in town was selling some old style CCIA tags the other day - I thought they were supposed to stop selling them on 1st January and start selling EIDs only? I know producers are allowed to use up their supplies of tags but retailers?
Anyone know the rules?

[topper]

To ensure a timely and effective transition to RFID, the CCIA Board of Directors carried a motion at their meeting held on July 20, 2004 stating, “THAT BAR-CODE TAGS WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR SALE AFTER JULY 1, 2005”. The CCIA is committed to grandfathering bar code tags into the system beyond January 1, 2005, but a timeline for this strategy has not been established. Therefore, the CCIA encourages distributors and dealers to continue purchasing the anticipated numbers of bar-code tags required for the remainder of 2004 but due to the uncertainty of grandfathering timelines, the CCIA strongly discourages advising producers to stockpile bar-code tags for future use.

[15444]

As long as the tags are going to be grandfathered, let the guys sell out their supplies. Who do you think is on the hook for the tags that don't get sold? The supplier?, the CCIA? un uh...it's the retailer. So if some retailers want to sell out their supplies of old barcode tags, let 'em! If I was a retailer, I would cut the price of the barcode tags down a bit and take a small loss to get rid of the tags quickly. I have no problem tagging everything that leaves this place with a barcode tag until RFID is mandatory. Doesn't seem like anyone at CCIA is in a big rush to get the cost of the RFID tags down to the barcode ones, so why should I be in a big rush to switch?

[farmers_son]

In our area, the RFID tags were sold out quickly and the stores have not been able to get more. Sticking with the Jan 15 date gives those producers who have not been able to get their tags time to do so.

Also some producers would have bought their tags and tagged their calves but not got their paper work sent away before the USDA announcement.

I am not quite as confident that there is every indication that the border will open before October. I think we will see lots of lobbying take place before the U.S. Congress between now and March 7, 2005 and even after as Congress has 90 days after the official announcement in January. We will see American protectionism in full force without any pretense of science as U.S. producers seek to maintain their record live cattle prices at the same time as consumer demand is falling off in American stores.

[topper]

You might be right on that border opening farmers_son but I suspect we sometimes think the american producer has more power than they actually have. I would think that they have about as much power with their government as we have with ours. And everybody knows what our voice counts for when the powers in the east want something different than we do.

[feathersrun]

Hello,
Of course I'm confused as all hell about this and want to know more as the local news here declines to carry farming news (we live in the GTA). Anyone care to enlighten me. I know about having to bar code tag the cows leaving our place but have been lucky(?) enough not to have to do it as all the incoming stock has been tagged. What is the new system all about and how will it be any better?
Monika

P.S. BTW Farmers in the east have just as much voice as our western counterparts.

[feathersrun]

feathersrun, each individual farmer should have an equal voice on all issues relating to the industry, however, where the west has added voice is due to the numbers of cattle in the west and the huge feeding industry out here. IT is certainly not an east west issue and hopefully all livestock producers are still on the same page with the BSE issue, as they have been since May 20/03. It has not been an east west issue up until this time, so hopefully no one assumes that it will be in the future.

[kato]

We sell CCIA tags at the clinic where I work, and are going to continue selling the bar code tags until our supply is gone, as far as I know. We're not out of them yet either. Not one person has asked for an electronic tag, other than the set aside ones so far.

Another problem is that our tag suppliers are very low on the plain old blank tags. We're going to need to go back to using them along with the EID tags if we want to be able to identify animals by sight.

I was also told by one of our suppliers that when the set aside deadlines are over, and we re-order EID tags, they are going to cost more than they do now.

Isn't that a surprise? NOT.

[kato]

feathersrun, the program will not change except that we will be using electronic tags instead of the barcodes we have now. It's not a big deal. I know that the Allflex tags can be put in with the same Allflex tagger that the barcode tag uses. (the red one). Some of the other companies have a trade in policy on old taggers, too. They'll give you a new one for free if you bring them an old one.

If you need to tag something, just go to a local farm supply store, feed store, or vet clinic, and they will sell you tags. They will apply for a PIN number for you and register you in the system.

[TOM4CWB]

In context, Al Capone himself it appears would not have used "Smile" as an interchange for "Slit throat", even though many people, by far the majority I interviewed, do associate the interchange of these words with a Mafia organised crime style executions.

[feathersrun]

Kato,
what's the point of the electronic tags vs the bar codes? Is there an advantage or is it just industry money grab? Remember this is the first I've heard of the change.

Monika

[cropduster]

Ritter`s choice of analogies mystifies me.This is the chairman of an X billion dollar corporation and he`s making statements like that??IF he were taking the `high road` it`s such a shallow comment as to not have any substance at all,and, if he had a sinister connotation it`s exactly that!Shouldn`t they be selling WHEAT ? ?How does this relate to the dismal voter turnout?I`m thinking the voter turnout is the true symbol of CWB marginalization.Farmers just don`t give a rat`s behind about them(CWB) any more.Is fear mongering the only pillar they have left??I thought they learned that wasn`t working,particularly with groups like FFJ.They continue to be reactionary only and easy to target by their detractors.Too bad no one there is smart enought o take a leadership role and include rather than exclude detractors.

[kato]

I think they prefer to be able to scan them electronically. The bar codes can become dirty and hard to read.

With the EID tags, they can put a scanner in a chute and just run them by. It's a lot quicker. I think they are easier to integrate into an automated system.

That's my guess, anyway.

[feathersrun]

MMMMMM that makes a great deal of sense. I never thought the bar codes were a good idea as some the ones we've dealt with recently were either on backwards or half sc****d off or the numbers were so damn small you had to climb on top of the cow just to read the damn thing. I do like this idea of EID now that I know what it is. Thanks

Monika

[TOM4CWB]

Cropduster;

I read an interesting saying this morning;

In a free and Democratic election all votes count;

But in feudalism all they do is count the votes.