New traceability regulations for 2010
New traceability regulations for 2010
by D. Larraine Andrews
Changes to Alberta's animal health and food safety legislation come into effect March 1.
New regulations under the Traceability Cattle Identification Regulation introduce several changes to tagging for cattle identification and cattle move in reporting for feedlots.
Also, the deadline has been extended for applying approved radio frequency identification tags and registering the cattle's birth date with the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency. The deadline has moved from eight months of age to 10 months.
Producers who use actual birth dates are required to identify the animal by three months of age. The new regulations allow the option of first using a cattle identifier -- like a tattoo or production dangle tag -- and keeping appropriate records. A RFID would be required by ten months of age and producers would submit the information to the CCIA.
Retagging provisions for cattle that have lost their ear tags have also been clarified. When an animal is retagged, on-farm records must be created or updated with the new tag number, the date of application and the old tag number if possible.
The new rules specify the retagging process for cattle aged under and over 18 months.
Feedlots also face reporting changes. They will now be required to report move-in information to the CCIA if they feed 1,000 or more head a year. The previous cut-off was feedlots with 5,000 or more head.