October 2, 2006

 

Calf Certification Programme undergoes major changes

 

 

The USDA has mandated major changes in the requirements for the Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification Programme (FCCP) which could affect calves¡¯ eligibility for enrollment in the FCCP, especially for seedstock producers.

 

A major change is USDA's requirement that calves must be enrolled at the Ranch of Origin, meaning that calves cannot be enrolled at a sale barn or feed yard. If they are not tagged when they are offloaded at the owner's facility, they would be ineligible for future enrollment in the FCCP.

 

Untagged calves would no longer be eligible for the programme, as in the past. Producers are also not allowed to buy tags and send them with the cattle as in the past due to the requirement that calves have to be enrolled at the ranch of origin.

 

Seedstock producers would no longer distribute tags to their bull customers but may pay for the tags and encourage their customers to enroll.

 

These customers must enroll through the USDA approved supplier verification process, and tags would be sent directly to them. 

 

Seedstock producers who "buy back" calves from their customers would have to have those cattle enrolled/tagged prior to leaving the ranch of origin.

 

This fall, all feeder calf enrollments would be achieved through completion of a USDA approved  "Supplier Evaluation Process", which consists of a telephone interview between the ranch of origin and Red Angus staff.

 

The interview would include questions about herd breeding management, birth date records and herd co-mingling. 

 

The association emphasised that enrollments must occur before calves leave the ranch of origin. This is especially important with the upcoming Fall Certified Red Angus Feeder Calf Sales, the organisation said.