USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs Greg Ibach announced the agency’s four goals for advancing disease traceability to protect the long-term health, marketability and economic viability of the U.S. livestock industry. The goals are part of the animal disease traceability program (ADT).
- Advance the electronic sharing of data among federal and state animal health officials, veterinarians and the industry, including sharing basic ADT data with the federal animal health events repository;
- Use electronic identification tags for animals requiring individual identification in order to make the transmission of data more efficient;
- Enhance the ability to track animals from birth to slaughter through a system that allows tracked data points to be connected, and
- Elevate the discussion with states and industry to work toward a system where animal health certificates are electronically transmitted from private veterinarians to state animal health officials.
Source: Feedstuffs, September 26, 2018. Link.
To assist with the transition to electronic identification, USDA is ending the free metal tags program and instead is offering a cost-share for electronic tags.
INSIGHTS: This is another step to help animal disease traceability become part of an affordable system that tracks animals from birth to slaughter that allows USDA to quickly trace sick and exposed animals to stop disease spread.