CowCalf & Electronic ID

The NAIS (National Animal Identification System's) goals are to prevent outbreaks of disease in livestock through tracing individual and group lots of animals. Each animal must be uniquely tagged with an EID (electronic ID tag) and a record kept of what locations (premises) that animal has been in the past. The NAIS will provide 48 hour trace backs on any infected animal through Premise Identification, Animal Identification, and Animal tracking,. The program is still being developed by the USDA and state organizations, CowCalf5 will attempt to integrate with all the systems that are developed.

Some basic info on how CowCalf5 integrates with EID's and NAIS.

Is CowCalf5 compatible with the National ID System?
The NAIS final design and implementation has not yet been finalized. However, CowCalf5 has has the features that comply with current requirements. If additional features are required, CowCalf5 will add the needed functions to remain in compliance with the requirements of the NAIS.

What is CowCalf5's role in the National ID System?
The NAIS is encouraging ranchers to keep better records of where each head of cattle has been. CowCalf5 software allows cattle producers to keep electronic records of where each head has been, along with more detailed record keeping to help with the management and marketing of the herd. CowCalf5 provides the record keeping abilities required to maintain compliance with the NAIS while also helping producers use extra information to increase their bottom line.

How does CowCalf5 currently upload data to the NAIS database?
The formal National ID System's database(s) have not been released. However, CowCalf5 has the abilities to export (send) or import (receive) files in a text (Tab Delimited format). This is the most common file format for transferring data between applications. As the final decisions are made with the NAIS, CowCalf5 will add additional processes to ensure compatibility with the NAIS.

How does CowCalf5 work with the NAIS?
A few features that have been added to the CowCalf5 software to maintain compliance are:

Electronic Identification (EID)- a unique identification tag that can be scanned with an electronic ID scanner to record the number. CowCalf5 provides areas and compatibility with ID scanners to ease the input time and work. All animals have the ability to have secondary (EID) tags associated with their record. Animals can be searched on any of the various ID fields within CowCalf5
Visual Identification (VID)- CowCalf5 includes a primary and additional ID fields that can store Visual ids like Visual Tag, Tattoos, Bangs (metal) tags, and brands.
Date of Birth- The NAIS requires a date of birth on cattle to verify age. CowCalf5 has an area for date of birth and also maintains the current age of the animal.
Management Group/Pasture Location- NAIS requires that producers know where an animal has been. CowCalf5 provides an area to designate the group this animal is with, and what current pasture that group is in.

How does CowCalf5 work with Electronic IDs?
CowCalf5 can record the EID number with the help of a scanner or the number can be input manually. The records of the cattle can also be found with the EID number. EID readers work very well with PDA's for field data collection.

Which EID Scanner Manufacturers does CowCalf5 work with? CowCalf5 is compatible with:

Allflex - 1-800-989-TAGS
Digital Angel (Destron reader) - 1-800-328-0118
Temple Tag (Destron reader) - 1-800-433-3112
Y-Tex - 1-888-600-YTEX
IDology - 1-800-395-5585

More pricing info can be found at www.shopnebr.com

Which EID tags and EID Readers are compatible with CowCalf5?
Most RFID tags and Readers are ISO compatible, meaning that they are not brand specific to the tag and reader. Nearly all ISO Readers will read any manufactures EID tags. Most Reader companies fine tune their readers to read their own tags better than competitors tags. Contact the specific companies with any specific questions.