 By:
Julie Stitt, CCIA General Manager
The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) is a non-profit
organization incorporated to establish a national cattle identification
program in order to trace and eliminate sources of disease and food safety
concerns in the Canadian Cattle herd. This efficient trace back system
also continues to maintain consumer confidence and market access for the
entire Canadian beef industry. Implemented in 2001, the CCIA requires the
individual identification of all cattle moving beyond their herd of
origin. A CCIA approved ear tag bearing a unique identification number and
the CA logo with three-quarter maple leaf, must be applied to each animal
at the time of leaving its herd of origin. This unique number of each
individual animal is maintained to the point of carcass inspection where
it is then retired from the CCIA database, and the tag is destroyed.
On January 1, 2005, the move from bar coded tags to Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) will begin in an effort to provide the Canadian
cattle industry with further assurances of accurate and efficient
collection, management, and retirement of data while facilitating timely
processes within a traceback situation. At this time, all numbers
allocated for the production of CCIA approved tags will only be used for
RFID tags. The sale of remaining bar coded tags within the distribution
system will be permitted until July 01, 2005. Bar coded tags that are
applied to existing animals within the system will be grandfathered
indefinitely at this time.
70,000 tags tested
The CCIA has concluded testing of more than 70 000 RFID tags subjected to
a series of three field trials and extensive laboratory testing. During
this time, the CCIA has also completed the CCIA Standards, Procedures and
Testing Document, describing the national standards for CCIA tag approval.
This document also provides precise requirements for retention,
readability, physical, mechanical and electrical characteristics for all
RFID tags that enter into the Canadian Cattle Identification Program.
Approved tags
To date, the six approved RFID tags are:
1. Allflex FDX
2. Allflex HDX
3. Destron Fearing eTag FDX
4. Nedap D40 cattle tag FDX
5. Y-Tex TechStar II FDX
6. Reyflex
Several new tags have been submitted to the CCIA for trials, with the new
selections to be announced in the coming months.
The implementation of the set aside programs across Canada, to encourage
delayed marketings and provide assistance to producers has accelerated the
transition to RFID as provinces began the implementation in October. Prior
to the announcement of the set-aside program, CCIA was working with tag
manufacturers to assure that the required supply of approved tags was
available for the January, 1, 2005- implementation date. The
implementation of the set-aside programs has created a shortage of supply.
The program was also announced prior to information being available to
producers on the requirements of the program and of CCIA. Although the set
aside programs utilize CCIA approved RFID tags, the administration of the
set aside is the responsibility of each province. Producers are encouraged
to contact their agriculture ministry for details on the set aside
programs. CCIA has only been working with the tag manufacturers to
facilitate access to CCIA approved RFID tags
The transition to RFID will not only enhance industry capabilities under
the current program, but will offer new opportunities for market driven
initiatives such as age verification. Age verification has been identified
by industry and government as a priority and as a potential requirement
for regaining specific market access. CCIA has organized a number of
industry/government meetings to determine the requirements for the age
verification module. The most recent meeting was held with CFIA and
industry representatives prior to CFIA traveling to Tokyo to present
Canada's status on age verification to Japanese officials. Age
verification is the association of animal birth date data with the animal
ID number (tag or group). The specifications for age verification have
been developed with industry and government input to ensure the system
meets specified requirements in a user-friendly manner which encourages
widespread participation. Rapid access to age verification information
requires the retrieval of birth dates for uniquely identified animals
either in an interactive browser session or in response to a file upload.
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