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SAY MIKE YOU GOT TAGS FOR THOSE CAT FISH

HAY MAKER

Well-known member
Diseases don’t care whether a farmer has three cows in a small pen or 300 cows roaming in large pastures. Viruses can affect a small flock of hens in a backyard coop as easily as thousands of hens in warehouse-sized chicken plants.



That’s why the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) needs to be implemented, Maryland State Veterinarian Guy Hohenhaus said.



Not everyone agrees.



The federal program has been criticized by some as a cumbersome and expensive burden that could force smaller farmers out of business and as further intrusion by the government.



“Any time the government’s involved, I’m not very anxious to be a part of (it),” said Steve Martin, 48, of Smithsburg, who raises a small number of animals, including hogs. “When somebody comes down the road and says, ‘I’m here to help you,’ there’s always a catch.”



For now, the NAIS is a work in progress that is voluntary.



The program has three key components: Premises registration, animal identification and animal tracking.



Premises and animal identification is to be mandatory for all farms, big and small, in the United States by Jan. 1, 2008, and the ability to track animals is to be mandatory by Jan. 1, 2009, according to USDA documents.



However, Hohenhaus said those dates likely will not be enforced.



“That’s probably optimistic,” he said.



Under the USDA plan, farmers would have to obtain a unique seven-character identification number for their premises. Only one number is needed for each farmer’s property, even if he or she has several different types of livestock on the land.



Farmers also must obtain unique 15-digit numbers for each animal on their property. Animals that are born, raised and moved as a group can be assigned a group 13-character number, according to two USDA documents — the NAIS Draft Program Standards and the Draft NAIS Strategic Plan 2005-2009.



Both documents can be downloaded from the Web site at www.usda.gov/nais



To track animals, reports will be filed whenever an animal is moved from one premises to another, is taken to a veterinarian and when an animal dies or is killed.



In other words, the government wants to be able to know where all farms animals in the country have been from the time they were born to the day they die.



The program applies to farmers who have cattle and bison, llamas and alpacas, deer and elk, equines, goats, poultry, sheep and swine.



Some documents indicate it also will apply to certain species of fish as well as mussels, scallops, oysters and crawfish, but other documents omit any reference to aquaculture.



Marilyn Bassford, NAIS coordinator for Maryland, said that aquaculture registration eventually will be done, but is not now a priority.



Washington County has 775 farms on 125,159 acres, according to the most recent Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service’s Census of Agriculture, which was done in 2002.



In Maryland, Washington County ranks first for hog production, second for both dairy cows and forage, third for beef cattle, fourth for barley and sixth for sheep, said Sue duPont, director of communications for the state Department of Agriculture.



Program’s purpose: Contain problems



The goal of the NAIS is to be able, within 48 hours, to identify all animals and premises that have had contact with a foreign or domestic animal that might have been exposed to a disease, according to the NAIS Draft Strategic Plan.



Diseases of concern include mad cow disease, Newcastle disease and foot and mouth disease.



There’s also another concern.



“In addition, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks make clear that an intentional introduction of an animal disease is a real risk,” draft documents state.



Food products easily can be traced based on shipment information, but tracing the source of meat products — the animals themselves — can be difficult.



A potential food safety problem would require animals to be quickly found and, if necessary, contained, Hohenhaus said.



Although critics claim the program could put smaller farmers out of business — farmers will have to spend time filling out paperwork and pay for the tags — Hohenhaus said he wasn’t too worried about such a possibility.



“It’s a convenient scapegoat,” he said of such claims. “Most of these folks are not earning their bread and butter” by farming.



Bassford said tags compatible with the program are available and range from 10 cents each for tags for poultry to no more than $3 for radio frequency tags for larger animals.



“I don’t think it’s going to be cost-prohibitive,” Hohenhaus said. “It’s an investment. It’s not an expense.”



Excluding smaller farmers and only applying the program to large farm operations would be ineffective because animals raised by smaller producers are not immune to viruses, Hohenhaus said.



“Diseases don’t discriminate on small and big producers,” the veterinarian said. “The disease organisms don’t care if you’re a big operation or not.”



Other countries, including Canada, Australia and nations in Europe, have in place similar identification and tracking programs.



Hohenhaus can relate that information to a farmer’s wallet.



Profit losses caused by Maryland products being unwanted on the market would far outweigh the costs of being in the program, he said.



He cited as an example a case a couple of years ago in which Maryland poultry was “not welcome” for a while because of the avian influenza scare.



“What we would like to be able to do is quickly focus on where is the risk and let everyone else go about their business,” Hohenhaus said.



A changing world



Because it’s mandatory, Martin — the farmer in Smithsburg — said he will research the program, and admitted that it could turn out to be a good one.



“But I also know we’re living in a different world in the last few years than what my parents and my grandparents grew up in,” he said.



His grandfather sold his products from a horse-drawn wagon in the region, while Martin’s father’s livestock made its way around the country.



Martin is taking part in a world economy that, he said, could be devastated by an outbreak of mad cow disease or anthrax. He said he understands the world has changed since 9/11, and that farming has changed.



“They’re doing their job, don’t get me wrong,” Martin said of government officials in charge of the NAIS. “But I don’t have to buy into the whole system.”



“Any time the government’s involved, there’s more paperwork,” he said. “Personally, I have enough paperwork already.”



Hohenhaus said he has talked to and read letters from farmers concerned about the program, including those opposed to what they consider to be government meddling.



“I’m a farmer, I’ve got farms in two other states, and I don’t like unnecessary government intrusions,” Hohenhaus said. “Farmers are kind of a conservative lot. They look at new things with a cautious eye.”



However, he maintained that the NAIS is necessary.





“It’s a tool I need, otherwise I can’t do my job,” he said. “Once a problem hits, it’s too late, and we’ll probably be ineffective in our ability to respond and lose out to foreign competition.”



Hohenhaus has a small farm in Virginia and a crop farm in North Dakota that he leases out to others.



Exactly what types of tags will be used on certain animals has not been determined. Some animals could wear ear tags, while others, such as horses, could have a small transmitter chip placed under their skin.



Such microchips, which commonly are described as being about the size of a grain of rice, already are used by some pet owners.



Chickens might have a tag that is similar to the piece of plastic used to attach a price tag to a piece of clothing in a store, Hohenhaus said.



Tags will be free for sheep and goats that are being monitored for scrapie, a fatal degenerative disease that affects the central nervous systems of goats and sheep.



Still, because the program is not yet mandatory, Bassford said that no farmer should feel compelled to immediately buy new tags.



“Do what you’re doing and register (your premises) so we can map out everything,” she said.



Officials: Some fears unfounded



Misconceptions about the NAIS are common.



One is that satellite equipment will be used to watch farmers and animals.



That’s neither feasible nor desirable. Instead, the government wants to be able to review records only when a problem arises, Hohenhaus said.



Horse owners will not have to report every time their horse is taken for a ride, Hohenhaus said. However, a report will need to be filed if horses from other farms also are on the ride, or when horses are taken to horse shows — since in both instances, there is the opportunity for commingling, USDA documents show.



“Pet” animals that never will leave an owner’s property do not have to be identified and — the last misconception Hohenhaus wanted to address — the embedded chips are not likely to cause an animal to develop cancer.



Other concerns include confidentiality, and the USDA admits that it might have to release NAIS records if someone were to file a Freedom of Information Act request.



But the agency also said it is trying to find a way to circumvent that.



“To secure full participation, USDA is pursuing legislation to establish a system for withholding or disclosing information obtained through the animal identification system,” draft reports state.



Altogether, the program could be one that farmers use to their advantage, Bassford said.



“Registration of dairy animals is nothing new, and (farmers are) finding with a computer age that this type of system can be an excellent management tool,” Bassford said. “It’s the next thing that can help them be a better farmer.”





Source: The Herald-Mail ONLINE

herald-mail.com
 

William Kanitz

Well-known member
RFID and PIDC Link up in Best Traceback System in the World
*
RFID tagging wastes your time and money without ScoringAg’s Web-based WorldWide databank and Site-Specific Recordkeeping™. The expense and effort of tagging livestock, and identifying crops, fish, and other agricultural products, is wasted without a Web-based database and data management system based on site-specific locations. This allows you to link the product with ScoringAg’s database and Site-Specific Recordkeeping™ no matter where you are in the world – either with RFID or barcode.

Without efficient, effective data collection system and a Web-based data management system, tagging livestock and other agriculture items cannot provide true animal traceback and traceup – even when a local, resident software system and database is used. A Web-based system makes it possible for records to move with the individual product, which cuts the time required for source verification to just seconds.

A true traceback and traceup system also must account for every product handler that is involved in the food chain, including transport operators, vehicles, inspection stations, stockyards, and all downstream processors and food handlers to prove source verification.

Each stage of the food processing and supply system must: have items identified with a unique number and labeled by RFID or barcode; be identified by a unique world Premises IDentification Code (PIDC); record activities and actions performed on the animals, fish, or crops at each location – even in the middle of a packing plant, or on board a factory ship, or in the middle of a farmer’s field, and all the way to the wholesaler,retailer and consumer.

Only ScoringAg’s Internet-based patented recordkeeping system and database can: meet the demands of real traceback in real time; provide real compliance with government traceback regulations, not just an appearance of meeting tagging requirements; give producers an actual competitive marketing advantage over competitors by adding value to RFID with PIDC; and guarantee confidentiality with a secure databank that can still deliver Internet-based records anywhere, anytime, in real time – only to the owner of the account.

If you are using tags alone – and no Web-based recordkeeping system – true traceback and traceup are just not possible without PIDC. www.ScoringAg.com has all the benefits of a filing system in a Web-based databank.

ScoringAg.com and its traceback and traceup system for agriculture products, featuring Site-Specific Recordkeeping™ and PIDC location code, is one of the many divisions of ScoringSystem, Inc., which is located in Sarasota, Florida USA and specializes in providing solutions with mobile data, via wireless PDAs, laptops, and Semacode-programmed Nokia mobile phones anywhere in the world. Whether using RFID or barcodes for tracking and traceback of livestock or perishable commodities and other consumer goods, www.ScoringAg.com makes managing data easier – and does it in an extremely cost effective manner.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
https://www.scoringag.com/Ag.cfm?sfa=main.crop_accounts_presentation&presentation=fish

Say Mike ,how many RFID fish tags do you see in this www.scoringag.com graphic???
 

Mike

Well-known member
PORKER said:
https://www.scoringag.com/Ag.cfm?sfa=main.crop_accounts_presentation&presentation=fish

Say Mike ,how many RFID fish tags do you see in this www.scoringag.com graphic???

Dang Porker! You really do have fish tags!

Now, just how do I run them through the sqeeze chute? Do I have to dig a ditch all the way to the barn? :wink: :wink:
 

PORKER

Well-known member
The Boys at ScoringAg said that the Blue Fin Tuna can be worth $2000-$10000 bucks A fish and the importers want them RFID'ed nomatter the fish for susi.They want traceback and they want PROOF of where that fish is AT and how it travels .How about this Big one Mike !!!: http://www.tcnewsnet.com/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=230&ArticleID=139823&TM=46341.76

Got any like this in Bama ??????
 

PORKER

Well-known member
May 1, 2006 (Episode 2127)



The Saskatchewan Pork Development Board is rolling out a new trucker manifest for use by anyone who moves pigs along public roadways in Saskatchewan.

In an effort to streamline the legal documentation necessary when moving pigs along public roads, the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, in consultation with farmers, marketers, transporters, packers and government, has developed a new one page four copy trucker's manifest.

Producers Services Manager Harvey Wagner says the intent is to cut down on the number of different pieces of paper transporters in Saskatchewan, particularly commercial truckers, have to have.



Clip-Harvey Wagner-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board

What is contains is, it's going to be a document that'll be used anytime the animal basically drives on a public road.

That includes animals going to market and also interfarm transfer so what all it contains is the actual owner of the pigs, room to identify the producer numbers, the food safety or CQA number, the type of hogs that are on the load, their tattoo numbers, their identification, possibly the tag numbers if they want to do that.

It also says where they came from, the originating barn, the actual premise where they came from, who's the transporter, the actual trucker, who's the driver, license plate numbers and truck numbers and then where they're consigned to, or who's the receiving premise whether it's a farm, an assembly yard or a packing plant.

The idea of that is so that it is going to be satisfying the full traceability as we move to full traceability from farm to packing plant but also farm to farm so that we have a document that gives enough information to provide a complete trail of movement for all hogs in the case of foreign animal diseases or that type of a crisis.



Wagner notes the new documents are starting to make their way into the field now and will be available through the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, through the SPI assembly yards and through most of the packers.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.
 

Mike

Well-known member
katrina said:
That is one big gross green fish..... Yuck......... :shock: :shock: :shock:

I guess you are what you eat.........................

"Effective baits are big chunks of gizzard shad, common carp, live sun perch and crawfish."
 
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