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NAIS Tag Guidelines

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I think they are shooting for an awful high retention rate if they expect less than 1% tag loss over the lifetime of the animal...Can any meet the standard? I wonder if that is a federal law violation if more than 1% of the tags fall out of your cows? Do you go to jail if they lose 2%? Or will they go after Porkers company and put them in jail if I lose more than 1% of the tags :wink: :???: :lol:

Today 3/6/2006 11:49:00 AM


Cattle ID: USDA Releases Guidelines for Manufacturing & Distribution



The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced the implementation of the animal identification number (AIN) as the next phase of the voluntary National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The initial focus of the AIN is for individual cattle and swine. These species typically use identification eartags (referred to as AIN tags) when official identification is necessary (e.g., interstate commerce or disease programs).



The use of the AIN will be expanded to other species that use other forms of identification, implants for example, in the future. APHIS also has adopted an option with NAIS to allow producers to incorporate supplemental identification methods or technologies with the AIN tag such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and biometrics (e.g., DNA and retinal imaging). Supplemental identification technologies or methods may vary among species. To ensure compatibility and uniformity is achieved in the national program, however, APHIS will establish technology standards, when applicable, along with performance requirements.



Performance standards for AIN tags and RFID-AIN tags are contained in the document entitled Administration of Official Identification Devices with the Animal Identification Number available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/nais.



Performance standards issued for AIN tagsinclude, but are not limited to, the following.

• The tag must be designed for one-time use and be tamper evident.

• The printing on the tag may not readily be altered and should include the 15-digit AIN and U.S. shield.

• The AIN number must be readable at a distanceof 30 inches.

The tag must function and remain affixed to the animal for the expected lifetime of the animal.

On average, not more than 1 percent of tags applied may be lost in the years following application.



For bison and cattle, APHIS supports the integration of radio frequency identification with the eartag.



While public comments show an overwhelming support for RFID-integrated eartags, other supplemental technologies remain an option for use with the AIN tag.



Companies or individuals wishing to manufacture or distribute AIN tags must apply for approval with USDA. The prerequisite for applying involves registering for a nonproducer participant number through the premises registration system in the state in which the company's headquarters is located and obtaining a level-2 USDA eauthentication account. An on-line identity verification system, eAuthentication, is needed to gain access to the AIN Management System that supports the distribution of AINs and AIN tags.



A level-2 eAuthentication account provides authorized users with specific roles to access the AIN Management System and provides the ability to conduct electronic business transactions with USDA via the Internet. To obtain an account with level-2 eAuthentication access, you must complete an account profile on-line at http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov/eauthCreateAccount.html, and then visit the nearest USDA service center in person to prove your identity with a current state driver's license, state photo identification, U.S. passport, or U.S. military identification.



For more information on how to obtain an eAuthentication account, please visit http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov.



The distribution strategy for AIN tags involves three key roles: AIN tag manufacturers, managers and resellers. Tag manufacturers are companies authorized by APHIS to manufacture approved identification devices and are responsible for the overall production and quality of the official identification devices.



Tag manufacturers are responsible for:

• Abiding by the terms and conditions set forth in the AIN Tag Manufacturer agreement;

• Completing an AIN tag manufacturer training program;

• Imprinting the "840" number and U.S. shield on identification devices;

• Maintaining the uniqueness of AINs allocated to them; and

• Reporting the distribution of all AIN tags to the AIN Management System within 24 hours of shipment.



Tag managers are individuals or companies that distribute AIN tags to another manager, reseller or registered premises. An AIN tag manager must have an AIN tag distribution agreement with an AIN tag manufacturer.



Tag managers are responsible for:

• Completing an AIN tag manager training program;

• Distributing AIN tags to registered premises or registered nonproducer participant;

• Maintaining a dated inventory of AIN tags received from manufacturers;

• Educating producers on the proper use of official AIN tags; and

• Reporting the distribution of all AIN tags to the AIN Management System within 24 hours of

shipment.



Tag resellers function similarly to tag managers but operate under a marketing agreement with an AIN tag manager instead of a manufacturer. Like a tag manager, tag resellers are responsible for:

• Completing an AIN tag manager training program;

• Distributing AIN tags to registered premises or registered nonproducer participant;

• Maintaining a dated inventory of AIN tags received from manufacturers;

• Educating producers on the proper use of official AIN tags; and

• Reporting the distribution of all AIN tags to the AIN Management System within 24 hours of shipment.



For more information on how to become an AIN tag manufacturer or distributor, please consult the document entitled Administration of Official Identification Devices with the Animal Identification Number available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/nais.
 
OT, the tags I have used would almost be impossible to get out. Not saying they can't be gotten out but it would be tough.

Put in the top part of the ear in that thick, tough hide, we might have a bunch of earless cattle runing around one day. :lol:
 
Mike said:
OT, the tags I have used would almost be impossible to get out. Not saying they can't be gotten out but it would be tough.

Put in the top part of the ear in that thick, tough hide, we might have a bunch of earless cattle runing around one day. :lol:

I'm glad they have something... The reports I saw back from the test ID study areas were not good...Retention and unreadibility taking the number below 90%- and in some down in the 80% range....

Just spent a while this morning walking around a haypen fence- picking up tags :wink: ....

I read an interesting newspaper article off Sarpy Sams website where the MSU Ag Research Center was spending a small fortune building new Temple Grandin designed corrals and handling facilities- and were making part of the alleyway area out of plastic so it didn't interfer with the tag readers...Will we have to rebuild all our corrals to meet the new requirements?

Except he's kind of like me- doesn't think they looked at or answered enough of the questions regarding this NAIS before they overreacted.....
 
Oldtimer said:
Mike said:
OT, the tags I have used would almost be impossible to get out. Not saying they can't be gotten out but it would be tough.

Put in the top part of the ear in that thick, tough hide, we might have a bunch of earless cattle runing around one day. :lol:

I'm glad they have something... The reports I saw back from the test ID study areas were not good...Retention and unreadibility taking the number below 90%- and in some down in the 80% range....

Just spent a while this morning walking around a haypen fence- picking up tags :wink: ....

I read an interesting newspaper article off Sarpy Sams website where the MSU Ag Research Center was spending a small fortune building new Temple Grandin designed corrals and handling facilities- and were making part of the alleyway area out of plastic so it didn't interfer with the tag readers...Will we have to rebuild all our corrals to meet the new requirements?

Except he's kind of like me- doesn't think they looked at or answered enough of the questions regarding this NAIS before they overreacted.....

Part of the terminology I heard when they were talking about this stuff in some regional presentations was that they wanted it to work "at the speed of commerce".

One state employee who was working on pilot projects was told to "get out of the alley" and to "quit slowing everything down." Not a single pilot project conducted in my state allowed working "at the speed of commerce". Not a single rancher ended up with an accurate "electronic" accounting of his calves at the end of the season.

Yet, we're charging full steam ahead, but the system doesn't work in the field. Brand inspectors work at the speed of commerce without a problem (usually).
 
I think they are shooting for an awful high retention rate if they expect less than 1% tag loss over the lifetime of the animal...Can any meet the standard? I wonder if that is a federal law violation if more than 1% of the tags fall out of your cows? Do you go to jail if they lose 2%? Or will they go after Porkers company and put them in jail if I lose more than 1% of the tags*********
WELL now,BOLUSES are 100% and Europe is going all bolus at the end of 2007,Austrialia uses Boluses,South America uses Boluses,Cows and Bulls will lose tags when they live past 1 year.Ha Ha I can't keep tags in a breeding bull at all.Somebody should use a branding iron on them boys at the USDA and APHIS.
 
I know we are talking about MID here, but what is wrong with expecting GIPSA investigations/regulatory actions to go as fast as the speed of commerce? Why is that hurdle one that cattlemen/systems are asked to go at and govt. regulatory agencies are allowed to go a a negative rate? Seems like a double standard to me.

I just don't see how the sec. of ag. can spend so much money on MID and not do the USDA mandated regulatory processes worth a poot. I guess they have their priorities mandated by agribusiness and not producers.
 
Sitting behind a lunch of soy burgers, soy taco meat, and soy cheese dessert, Dwayne Andreas announces that global capitalism is a delusion. "There isn't one grain of anything in the world that is sold in a free market. Not one! The only place you see a free market is in the speeches of politicians. People who are not in the Midwest do not understand that this is a socialist country."

It might seem odd that a man with personal assets well into nine figures would be so quick to hoist the red flag of socialism over the American heartland. But Andreas is essentially right. Agriculture is the last industry where the U.S. government so routinely sets prices and determines production levels, a complex arena in which doing business often has more to do with influencing legislation than with responding to supply and demand. Prospering in this environment is ADM's forte.

"We're the biggest [food and agriculture] company in the world," Andreas explains. "How is the government going to run without people like us? We make 35 percent of the bread in this country, and that much of the margarine, and cooking oil, and all the other things."

ADM is indeed a Goliath of world food production (it calls itself the "supermarket to the world"), with 1994 reported sales of $11.3 billion and profits of $484 million. Its total stock value is $9.7 billion, $417 million of which belongs to Andreas, or is held by him in a trust for his offspring.
 
1% :lol: I find it interesting how these regulators very rarely are able to generate anything meaningful within the realities of animal production.

When the CCIA was putting together their initial draft, someone wanted a 90% retention rate. That was all well and good until not one single company in the tag competition was able to build a tamperproof non-reusable tag with a 90% retention rate. The CCIA finally had to settle on 80%.

Now that the CCIA has went to the button tags, I'd say retention is up past 90%, but it certainly wouldn't be for the life of the animal. Perhaps 90% retention over 2 or 3 years.

Rod
 
Rod, Thats why the rest of the world including Africa are using boluses for long term usage over a period of years for bulls and cows,goats and sheep.Tag buttons will work for one year or less but the tag companys want repeat business and it good for them that tags are lost.Second you need a database that keeps track of every tag device that was hung on that one animal over its lifetime to keep records.RFID Boluses are 100%.
 

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