April 18, 2013

USDA introduces new livestock tracking programme

The USDA has launched a new livestock identification programme which will effectively track livestock in an event of a disease outbreak.

This marks the USDA's second attempt at implementing such a system, after a voluntary programme in 2006 was abandoned. Livestock producers were reluctant to participate in the programme which they felt was too invasive and costly.

The livestock identification system's primary goal is to track animal movements across state lines, so that agriculture and health officials can swiftly establish quarantines and initiate steps to prevent the spread of disease.

"This ensures that healthy animals can continue to move freely to processing facilities, providing a dependable and affordable source for consumers as well as protecting producer's livelihoods," Abby Yigzaw, spokeswoman for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), said .

Livestock identification also helps investigators determine the source of disease, said Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Centre for Food Safety.

Although the new program is mandatory, it is more limited in scope. It applies only to animals being shipped across state lines, and gives states flexibility in deciding how animals will be identified - an important concession to cattle ranchers in western states, where brands are still commonly used.

The programme covers a range of livestock, but much of the focus has been on cattle partly due to the already widespread identification of those animals, said Neil Hammerschmidt, APHIS' animal disease traceability programme manager. Tracking cows has been less of a concern over the past decade due to successful past programmes which dealt with diseases affecting cattle health, he added.

The rules, which were effective from March 11, require dairy cows and virgin beef cattle of more than 18 months of age to be registered when they are shipped through state lines.