BVS and Your Operation  Nancy Brown

October 2, 2007

As we are all busy with harvest, getting the age and source verification paperwork in order for the cattle that are shipping in a month or two, and watching the news for what might be coming next from USDA on COOL or NAIS, I thought I'd take this opportunity to send a few quick reminders about the Beef Verification Solution and how all of these programs work together. 

First of all, the Beef Verification Solution is a program providing farm-level solutions for livestock data collection, management and communication.  ISO compliant radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are used to connect the livestock data to the individual animal in the BeefLink software.  This data collection can be accomplished through either the CattleCard system, using the BeefLink software to electronically capture the data, or the using other electronic data collection methods, such as a scale head or other management software, and then the data can be imported into the system.  After the data is collected or imported into the BeefLink software, it can be downloaded into Microsoft Excel or Access based reports for the data management portion of the program.  Data communication allows producers to share the information on their animals with any entity they wish to.  The producer also has the opportunity to have gain and carcass data tied to each animal.  It is up to the producer to work with the appropriate entity (feedyard or packer) to get the data back that he wants, and then it can be sent to BVS to be imported. 

Some additional benefits of the BVS program are:

1) Age and Source Verification.  BVS works under the umbrella of AgInfoLink's Process Verified Program (PVP) to provide age and source verification to our producers.   It is IMPORTANT to note that this is an ADD-ON to the BVS program.   Because enrollment in a USDA approved process verified program entails the potential for periodic audits by USDA, we feel it is vital that our members have a choice as to whether they wish to enroll in the PVP and be eligible for age and source verification or not to enroll, thus keeping their data in a private database and not available to USDA.  A separate training/enrollment and annual fee is required.   

2) National Identification System (NAIS) and Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) compliance.  The Beef Verification Solution Program's goal is to work with AgInfoLink to assist members in complying with these programs but it is important to note that while both of these programs are administered by USDA, they are separate programs, with many details yet to be decided.   The NAIS is a program under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) branch of USDA.  The goal is to maintain the health of the US livestock population by being able to provide a trace-back in the event of an animal disease outbreak.  The system is currently voluntary, which means it is up to each producer if they participate or not.   Within the BVS Program, members can make that choice by using or not using our "NAIS Track-Trace Events," which are designed to collect the necessary movement information.  Once USDA is ready for it, AgInfoLink will work to make sure our system is ready to communicate the movement information.  COOL is another program that will likely be administered by USDA, but it is under the Agriculture Marketing Service branch.  USDA was accepting comments on this program until about a month ago, and it is currently scheduled to be implemented the end of September, 2008.  There are currently no regulations written for this program, but again, we are working with AgInfoLink to make sure our program is ready to provide the necessary information once those regulations become available. 

In summary, I'd like to remind everyone that applying the RFID tags is simply that - applying a tag.  If you are wanting to manage data, that data needs to be collected; if you are wanting to sell age and source verified animals, the PVP training and enrollment need to be conducted; and as we learn what will be needed to participate in NAIS or COOL, we'll keep you informed as to what you will need to provide then as well.