NCBA Cattle: U.S. Animal Movement Database Rolled Out
DENVER (Dow Jones)--The National Animal Movement Database, which will allow U.S. Department of Agriculture health officials to trace an animal or group of animals back to their source quickly, was rolled out Thursday.
The system was explained by members of its board of directors to a gathering of cattle producers at the annual National Cattlemen's Beef Association convention in Denver.
In an interview with reporters after the presentation, database directors confirmed that the system is designed to be a single database for the nation. They also acknowledged that USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service officials have said recently they will work with multiple traceback systems, if that's what U.S. agriculture wants.
In the interview, Joe Queenan of ViaTrace, the firm that developed the software needed for the system and the company that will operate the system, said the its database system is in use in some countries in Europe currently, so it is a "mature" system.
Charles Miller, chairman of the directing organization called the U.S. Animal Identification Organization, said the system seeks and stores only four pieces of data: the premises identification number, the individual animal or the group number, the date of the "event" necessitating the input of information into the Web-based system and the "event" code, which identifies whether the event is the birth, first sale, slaughter or a list of other possibilities.
The system will not store any other information, such as economic data about production, feed conversions or carcass quality, Miller said. If a producer wants this type of information, it will have to be stored somewhere else.
The three board members who met with reporters said the system currently is being tested, but an announcement about where producers can begin inputting data is expected within a few weeks.
The national database system was initiated by the NCBA but the cattlemen's group bowed out as the project leader on Jan. 10, the directors told reporters. It now has one representative on the board of directors, which will grow as more species become involved in the database, they said.
Access to data contained in the database will be limited to USDA animal health officials and to state veterinarians for disease traceback purposes, they said. Under normal conditions, local veterinarians would not be allowed access.
The database itself is to be kept at an undisclosed, secure location, the directors and Queenan said. The operation will be run like any business with annual audits and the board demanding an accounting of how the money is spent and the filing of tax returns.
Queenan said in his presentation the system would accommodate and work with many other systems already in place or being devised by companies of industry groups. And the trade show that accompanies the convention is full of companies offering their own software, tags, electronic readers or complete systems.
Some companies, such as Schering-Plough (SGP) or Merial, offer tracking systems that put more emphasis on something other than disease traceback. Merial's system, for instance, is designed to verify production methods or age for a USDA Beef Export Verification program. Schering-Plough's tracking system is meant to be a production-verification process, documenting when certain desired activities like vaccinations, were done.
DENVER (Dow Jones)--The National Animal Movement Database, which will allow U.S. Department of Agriculture health officials to trace an animal or group of animals back to their source quickly, was rolled out Thursday.
The system was explained by members of its board of directors to a gathering of cattle producers at the annual National Cattlemen's Beef Association convention in Denver.
In an interview with reporters after the presentation, database directors confirmed that the system is designed to be a single database for the nation. They also acknowledged that USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service officials have said recently they will work with multiple traceback systems, if that's what U.S. agriculture wants.
In the interview, Joe Queenan of ViaTrace, the firm that developed the software needed for the system and the company that will operate the system, said the its database system is in use in some countries in Europe currently, so it is a "mature" system.
Charles Miller, chairman of the directing organization called the U.S. Animal Identification Organization, said the system seeks and stores only four pieces of data: the premises identification number, the individual animal or the group number, the date of the "event" necessitating the input of information into the Web-based system and the "event" code, which identifies whether the event is the birth, first sale, slaughter or a list of other possibilities.
The system will not store any other information, such as economic data about production, feed conversions or carcass quality, Miller said. If a producer wants this type of information, it will have to be stored somewhere else.
The three board members who met with reporters said the system currently is being tested, but an announcement about where producers can begin inputting data is expected within a few weeks.
The national database system was initiated by the NCBA but the cattlemen's group bowed out as the project leader on Jan. 10, the directors told reporters. It now has one representative on the board of directors, which will grow as more species become involved in the database, they said.
Access to data contained in the database will be limited to USDA animal health officials and to state veterinarians for disease traceback purposes, they said. Under normal conditions, local veterinarians would not be allowed access.
The database itself is to be kept at an undisclosed, secure location, the directors and Queenan said. The operation will be run like any business with annual audits and the board demanding an accounting of how the money is spent and the filing of tax returns.
Queenan said in his presentation the system would accommodate and work with many other systems already in place or being devised by companies of industry groups. And the trade show that accompanies the convention is full of companies offering their own software, tags, electronic readers or complete systems.
Some companies, such as Schering-Plough (SGP) or Merial, offer tracking systems that put more emphasis on something other than disease traceback. Merial's system, for instance, is designed to verify production methods or age for a USDA Beef Export Verification program. Schering-Plough's tracking system is meant to be a production-verification process, documenting when certain desired activities like vaccinations, were done.