Two swine industry experts say the use of RFID technology can improve traceability and make the U.S. herd more resilient.
Brent Pepin, a veterinarian and the director of swine health for the National Pork Board, says RFID tags would shorten the response times in the case of a foreign animal disease outbreak. “If we do have a pig that gets diagnosed with a trade limiting disease, we can quickly find what other pigs that animal might have had contact with to figure out where the potential threats are,” he says. “And so, we can get that disease under control as quickly as we can and resume our normal trading and normal production.”
He says producers can streamline their animal health efforts by using programs like AgView that help them provide very quick records of where their pigs have moved. And then also taking advantage of new technology that’s emerging and coming out --for example, the 840 RFID tags as a way to quickly identify animals and track those movements.
AgView is a digital contact tracing program with new advancements that allow participating producers and animal health officials to manage their U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP).
Mark Wright with The Parks Company in Fremont, Nebraska says the company has been implementing RFID panel readers in its facility. He says it’s improving efficiency.
“And with this technology, it’s passive and we don’t have to have employees, an extra employee trying to read these tags and do all that tracking back when it’s already getting done by the technology that’s been invented,” he says. “The interface is extremely user-friendly.”
The RFID 840 tags are available to swine producers and state animal health officials at no cost.
While enhancing traceability efforts will not prevent diseases, the USDA says it can significantly reduce the time needed to respond to outbreaks, helping to limit the number of affected farms and animals.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
During the past several years, we have seen firsthand just how devastating disease outbreaks can be to the livestock sector. More recently, the New World Screwworm is a perfect example. Although the new RFID tags may not be applicable to all situations where they can be employed, they could provide a significant advantage to veterinarians and animal health officials who are attempting to get the situation under control as rapidly as possible. Advancements such as this may seem rather insignificant but can, and often do, make a tremendous difference in tracking and slowing the spread of disease.
This might be a good time to remind you that AgPack® provides your customers with access to several products that can be extremely helpful in their livestock operation. If you’re not familiar with everything AgPack has to offer, please check it out on the Certified Ag Dealer mobile app or on our web page.
