age verification?

[sjc]

The trouble is that some of the elected reps are purebred breeder who will have absolutely no trouble recording the birthdate data for each calf because it is being done that way already. It is a little different for those on the range whose calves are not born inside a barn in January and February.
That being said, we plan to do our part and submit the birthdates. It might come down to the fact that there might be no premium to do it, but if it is not done there might be a discount. I cannot take that chance.

[greybeard]

This fall I shipped a load of yearling that had 10 head that needed to be tagged / retagged. We had to sort those 10 from the ones with tags. I tried to squeeze them up tight in the chute and quickly tag them that way. It worked well for 9 of them, but I ripped the ear on one and it bleed like a stuck pig and looked like hell. The cattle were headed to the states and I didn’t want any problems at the boarder so I kept the one back. The whole deal probably took me 2 hours with the sorting. Now I have one steer standing in a pen of bred heifers. It is inconvenient to take him to the market, and I am sure one #1100 steer won’t sell very well. Age verification cost me money with no obvious return in this case.
Grassfarmer has me convinced that grass calving is the way to go. I have been told that as you work with your cows less they turn into “range cows” and get a lot more protective around their calves. I suspect I will recognize them less as individual animals. I expect tagging will be more dangerous and I’m getting slower every year.
My greatest concern with mandatory ID is that it will turn into a pork barrel, as all Government programs do. Cost / benefits soon are forgotten when beaurocrats take control.

[nicolaas]

greybeard: we are all getting older!! We calve on the grass, no problem as long as you sell the crazies!!....remember, they get worse, not better every year.

[cowman]

greybeard: You are mistaking ID with age verification? You have to put in the ID tag whether you age verify or not? And yea, it can be a real pain in the butt as some cattle always seem to lose them. But it is a fact of life that we have to do it.
My biggest complaint has always been that the cow/calf producer has to do the work, pay for the tag, and take the hit if there is a problem. If the animal comes up positive for anything they go right to the original producer. I would think that if everybody in the food chain is getting the benifits from a mandatory ID system then everybody should pay equally? This of course does not happen.
Food safety is a government responsibility? They are paid very well to ensure our food is safe. I don't think it is unreasonable that the guy doing all the work should have the tag paid for by the government(or the consumer)? Obviously the feedlots or packers won't pay for it. The system is basically unfair to the primary producer.