Beef: Question marks hang over the new, mandatory cattle tagging system

Monday, August 9, 2010

With the start date less than 18 months away, concerns remain about the accuracy in reading the tags and who will bear the costs

by DON STONEMAN

With the target date for a mandatory cattle identification system at sales barns using radio frequency tags less than 18 months away, a lot of questions remain unanswered.

The chair of a research committee charged with studying systems to make this work in auction markets says that the accuracy in reading the tags varies widely, depending on the sales yards, the group of cattle and the day, affecting speed of commerce at the yards. The overall costs to sales barns, and ultimately to producers, is up in the air.

"Nobody yet knows what it is going to cost to equip the industry," says Rick Wright of Birden, MB., chairman of the committee steering the auction markets projects. While the federal government has discussed compensation for initial costs, auction markets "have extensive ongoing costs throughout the program," and coverage of these costs unresolved, Wright says.

Phase 1 of a study conducted last winter showed that the number of drafts of cattle sold per hour fell when Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags were used. A report was released June 1. There is an effect on the speed in processing sales that adds costs, says Wright – as much as two hours a day in some sales barns. "We are not sure the industry today can handle any additional costs," he says, noting that they ultimately have to be passed on to already hard-pressed producers.

"It costs more for labour," Wright says. "And we expect additional office costs."

At this point, RFID tags are an emergency management tool for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Wright says, from which neither producers nor sales yard operators benefit. In July, 2009, federal, provincial and territorial ministers had agreed to a target date for implementation of mandatory RFID tag reading by the end of 2011. "We don't know if that is carved in stone," Wright says.

Reading accuracy in nine auction markets across four provinces last winter, including Ontario, was volatile, varying from as high as 100 per cent to a low of 66 per cent, depending on the numbers and sizes of cattle delivered on any given day. "Read rates" in wide alley systems that processed the most cattle were the least accurate, while single lane systems that slowed cattle sales were most accurate.

"We don't know if that will meet the federal government's needs for emergency management," Wright says, but he hopes some of the accuracy issues can be resolved by relocating the tag readers in the sales barns.

"What do we do on a day when things aren't working right and we have a 75, 80 or 85 per cent read rate? Are we going to have to run these cattle back through to be re-read? Do we not sell those cattle that day? There are a lot of 'what ifs' that haven't been addressed."

Phase 2 will take place this coming winter with readers at buying stations where cattle are sold on private treaty. Hardware and software will be tested at three stations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Testing will also show if the RFID readers can be integrated into existing business software that handles inventory and other functions specific to sales barns. BF