PORKER
Well-known member
Animal I-D hot topic at ICA meeting
by Stella Shaffer
This is the second day of the annual summer Iowa Cattlemens Association summer conference and trade show. Evan Vermeer is a vice-president with the I-C-A. He says at a Monday policy meeting, "Animal I.D." was a major topic. Vermeer says if it's in effect in a "full trace-back system," Animal ID makes Country of Origin Labeling easy to do, and he says members at the meeting were eager for Iowa to get into such a program and be ahead of the curve. Created in response to world trade markets concerned about Mad Cow Disease and where the meat supply comes from, COOL or Country of Origin Labeling is intended to track animals to where they were born and raised, right down to giving each animal a unique identification. Vermeer says USDA's mandating Animal ID by the year 2008. He says Animal ID is "a good deal for traceback and for source verification, for age verification." He says it's a good idea to have the program in place so producers can hit developing markets, and says Iowa may be on track to implement the system even earlier than the national requirement.
by Stella Shaffer
This is the second day of the annual summer Iowa Cattlemens Association summer conference and trade show. Evan Vermeer is a vice-president with the I-C-A. He says at a Monday policy meeting, "Animal I.D." was a major topic. Vermeer says if it's in effect in a "full trace-back system," Animal ID makes Country of Origin Labeling easy to do, and he says members at the meeting were eager for Iowa to get into such a program and be ahead of the curve. Created in response to world trade markets concerned about Mad Cow Disease and where the meat supply comes from, COOL or Country of Origin Labeling is intended to track animals to where they were born and raised, right down to giving each animal a unique identification. Vermeer says USDA's mandating Animal ID by the year 2008. He says Animal ID is "a good deal for traceback and for source verification, for age verification." He says it's a good idea to have the program in place so producers can hit developing markets, and says Iowa may be on track to implement the system even earlier than the national requirement.
