New National Animal Identification System will guard against mad cow disease and animal health problems

July 23, 2004

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — To fight mad cow disease and other deadly animal illnesses, a new computerized animal identification system will allow state and federal officials to quickly track potential disease threats from farm to plate.

“The first phase of the National Animal Identification System starts later this year, and will eventually allow officials to trace and monitor all animal diseases, particularly those that originate in foreign countries,” said Todd Thrift, an assistant professor of animal sciences with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

“Currently, there is no nationwide animal ID system in the United States, although some regional programs are being tested,” he said. “The European Union now has the most comprehensive program for identifying and tracking animals.”

Thrift, who is helping the U.S. Department of Agriculture educate producers about the new system, said it is designed to identify and track within 48 hours all animals and sites exposed to disease – including imported and exported livestock.

“While the first phase focuses heavily on the nation’s $190 billion cattle industry, the animal ID system is scheduled to become mandatory by July 2006 for all livestock – including everything from beef and dairy cattle to goats, hogs, horses and farm-raised fish,” Thrift said.

Under the new system, producers and processors will be responsible for registering animals and recording their movement from the farm to the harvesting plant. The data will be maintained by USDA in cooperation with state agriculture departments, he said.

The first phase of the program will identify the geographical locations of the producers. No information about individual animals will be recorded, Thrift said.

“Called Premise, the first step will be nothing more than a seven-digit number that identifies where the producer’s farm is located in the state,” Thrift said. “If you’re a beef cattle operator, Premise will record your name and address, phone and email contacts, type of operation and probably some GPS (Geographic Positioning Satellite) coordinates.”

By July 2005, under current plans, the second phase of the program will identify animals that enter interstate commerce. For example, chickens, hogs or catfish from a single farm that go on one truck to a processing plant in another state will be tracked as a group or batch.

“For cattle moving in interstate commerce, we’re going to need a single ID so that each animal can be tracked from the original producer to the processing plant,” Thrift said. “That means an electronic tag with a microchip will be needed because cattle are usually mixed or co-mingled with animals from other farms.

“When you’re dealing with millions of cattle, an electronic tag is the only sure way to accurately track animals from one owner to another. Conventional bar-code tags can be easily lost or damaged, so that they are not readable by scanning devices,” he said.

Cost of the electronic tags is about $2.50 compared to $1 for the traditional tags. Thrift said the federal Department of Homeland Security may help underwrite the cost of the animal identification program to help protect the nation’s food supply.

The program’s third phase, scheduled for implementation in July 2006, will identify animals in intrastate commerce, requiring an electronic ID tag for animals moved around inside the state.

“When the system is fully operational, data on animals will be transmitted to a computerized database maintained by USDA,” Thrift said. “When animals are harvested, the processing plant will send a termination report to the database.”

Thrift said other new technologies, such as retinal scanners, will permit processing plants to verify animal identities much like a human fingerprint. Hamburger, which may include meat from several different animals, will be more difficult to trace.

“We have the potential to track animals all the way through the system and also measure how well they perform,” Thrift said. “We can start to manage animals as individuals instead of managing them as groups, figuring out why one animal gained three pounds a day in the feed yard while another gained less one pound per day – or why one animal graded low-select and another graded high choice.”

He said some producers are skeptical about the new federal program, expressing concerns about costs, confidentiality and liability, he said, “But experience has shown that these programs had positive results, and I believe the national animal identification system will be no different.”

He said the program has great potential for adding value to the industry, providing producers with detailed information on animals throughout their entire production cycle and creating new opportunities for marketing premium products to consumers.

Mike Milicevic, president of the Florida Cattlemens Association in Kissimmee, said the association is working with UF and USDA to develop the animal identification system for the state’s $1.2 billion cattle industry.

“We understand the need for an effective and rapid response to animal health issues, but we must make sure the system is efficient, economical, flexible and confidential,” he said. “Producers will probably bear a big share of the cost of implementing the plan. If it if is designed correctly, the identification system could help generate information to increase production and add more value to their cattle.”