When Do I Need To Report Death Events?

Tag retirement - when animals are disposed of on-farm

When deceased animals are disposed of on farm, it is required by proAction and the federal government (CFIA) regulations to report a tag retirement.

Under proAction, the tag retirement must be recorded on-farm and reported to DairyTrace within seven days of the event.

Tagging of stillborn calves is not required if they are disposed of on-farm. Tagging is required, however, if they are leaving the farm to go to a rendering facility, which will subsequently report the tag retirement.

For either scenario, the event needs to be recorded on-farm, but if the carcass leaves your premise, you do still need to complete a tag activation event for when the calf was tagged. 

Move-out - when animals are disposed of off-farm



When a renderer or deadstock removal company picks up the carcass it is highly recommended to report a move-out event to remove the animal from your DairyTrace account. That way it guarantees that your herd inventory list remains accurate. The renderer is required to report the tag retirement.

Watch this video for how to report tag retirements through the DairyTrace portal: 

Here’s how to report a move-out through your DairyTrace account: 

Please Note!

After September 1, 2023, all tag activations must be white dairy tags only.

As per proAction requirements, calves born on a dairy farm after this date must have white DairyTrace tags applied at birth, even if they are destined for purposes other than dairy production.

This will also include other retagging scenarios on farm, such as the use of the white single or dual tag set instead of a yellow button tag for cull cows when a tag is lost. Dual tagging is the recommended best practice and is always encouraged for all animals in case of tag loss.

The change applies to all provinces except Quebec, where dual tagging of all dairy animals has been a longstanding requirement.

Have questions or need help on the above topics? Please contact Customer Services

at 1-866-558-7223 or email us at info@dairytrace.ca.