Try, try again: Advancing animal disease traceability

Getting a nationwide group of notoriously independent and private people to voluntarily turn over information to the government can be a difficult obstacle to overcome. The U.S. Department of Agriculture made a major push to identify and track livestock in 2007, back when South Dakota native Bruce Knight was undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. The “primary emphasis is about supporting animal health,” and supporting producers, Knight said at the time. Some livestock producers jumped on board, but many did not. Now, Greg Ibach, USDA’s current undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs is pushing hard once again—hoping to build on the vision that his predecessor outlined. He hopes producers will recognize the cost-benefit analysis that traceability presents and that food companies expect.“If we can get to the point where we help producers understand the risks and the benefits that might be associated with traceability, I think that they will see the value in it for them and they’ll be more apt to participate,” he said during an interview with Agri-Pulse.Ibach makes no secret about advancing animal disease traceability being a personal priority. For about 10 years now, his Nebraska ranch has been participating in a USDA Process Verified Program, which he says allows his cattle to qualify for a value-added program.USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently announced its “four overarching goals for advancing animal disease traceability.” The release highlighted USDA’s goal to push for electronic data sharing between states and the federal government, the use of electronic identification tags, enhancing birth-to-slaughter tracking ability and creating a system where animal health certificates are electronically shared with state health officials.