USDA Again Refines Approach to Animal ID

In a letter to stakeholders last week - USDA's Chief Veterinarian John Clifford said USDA will now enter relationships with numerous animal movement tracking databases.

According to Clifford - USDA will create an architecture using technology known as a metadatabase. Clifford says that will allow USDA to search a variety of animal tracking databases - as long as they meet basic USDA standards.

Clifford also says their will be no overarching Memorandum of Understanding with any single private group. Instead - Clifford says - USDA will enter into a series of individual agreements with groups who have national animal movement tracking databases.

Under USDA's new approach - National Animal ID may prove to be a patchwork of livestock industry, individual species and breed association databases - all knitted together by the USDA metadatabase