I'm absolutely stunned having just read the Cattlemen calving edition article by Larry Thomas. The article is entitled "A refreshing voice of reason" referring to Larry Sears presentation given at a TSE Conference in Paris. I would disagree with much of the article which is all based on proving that BSE testing for markets is not needed and that MBM is the only cause of BSE in cattle. The part that stunned me though was Thomas stating that the UK BSE cases surfaced "mostly in dairy herds where cattle are typically older" whaaaat??? I have heard it said that the average dairy cow lasts 2-3 lactations - and that's older than beef cows?? I think not. That totally shoots his credibility in my mind, bad enough media reporters being ignorant but seasoned reporters in beef magazines?
He later states that Sears is correct to say that the CCIA ID program puts us miles ahead in efficiency and accuracy compared to the passport system in Europe. How come? Canada is about to implement an RFID tag which allows trace back to herd of origin and gives producers the option of adding an unverified date of birth to the data base - if they choose to. The European passport system has been running nearly 10 years and gives not only herd origin, date of birth but colour, breed, dam and sire ID as well as lifetime movements between premisis. Canada may be introducing a good, and easier to implement system, but I can't see how it is "more accurate".
Who is this clown?
He later states that Sears is correct to say that the CCIA ID program puts us miles ahead in efficiency and accuracy compared to the passport system in Europe. How come? Canada is about to implement an RFID tag which allows trace back to herd of origin and gives producers the option of adding an unverified date of birth to the data base - if they choose to. The European passport system has been running nearly 10 years and gives not only herd origin, date of birth but colour, breed, dam and sire ID as well as lifetime movements between premisis. Canada may be introducing a good, and easier to implement system, but I can't see how it is "more accurate".
Who is this clown?
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