In meetings last week, the Producer Traceability Council reached consensus on two major points to increase the number of cattle identified in the U.S. The Council unanimously agreed the best option for the cattle industry moving forward is to work toward the adoption of a High Frequency/Ultra High Frequency (HF/UHF) radio identification system and the timeline for adoption of the system mirror that of
USDA’s timeline
for the sunsetting of the metal tags with complete implementation no later than January 1, 2023.
The newly formed
Producer Traceability Council
has evolved and was established independently of the Cattle Traceability Working Group (CTWG). The focus is specifically on ways to increase the number of cattle identified with electronic identification devices, increase the number of sightings of identified cattle, identify methods of data storage, and suggest cost sharing scenarios, while taking into consideration and minimizing negative effects on producers.
