Dairy Farmers- the leaders in National Animal ID System with iDairy

SIX NATIONAL DAIRY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES TO GET THE US NATIONAL DAIRY HERD IDENTIFIED BEFORE THE 2009 USDA DEADLINE.

The iDairy program will be another helpful tool for dairy farmers as they try to conform to regulations that are being put into place. “We have formed this coalition because we all agree that our industry will be best served when all dairy operations, and ultimately, all dairy cows, are identified in a national central database,” according to the iDairy website.

“The news conference held at World Dairy Expo showed unprecedented cooperation between these groups was amazing. They were united and anxious to get this done, iDairy was not going to wait or be dragged down by the other sectors of the animal industry. The Beef, Poultry, and Pork industries were not going to deter the Dairy Industry from moving ahead quickly. The point was made that Washington (Sec. of Ag.) would see that iDairy was unified and aggressive in moving this National ID forward.” said David Hill, AltaAdvantage Consultant.

The six industry organizations that have joined together to be proactive in this animal identification process are; Holstein Association USA Inc., National Association of Animal Breeders, National DHIA, the National Milk Producers Federation, the Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association (PDHGA) and American Jersey Cattle Association. iDairy exists to provide information to farmers about how to register their premises with the appropriate state authorities, and how to obtain tags for individual cattle.

“The dairy industry has an opportunity to lead the effort on National Animal Identification but we must act now! That is why these six organizations have come together to form iDairy” states the iDairy Website which you can find at www.idairy.org.

iDairy will help provide information for farmers on three key components of the National Animal ID System.

They include:

• 1.Registering your premise
• 2.Individual identification of all animals
• 3.Record the information in a national database

The informative website provides answers the most common questions that face the Animal ID System. It will help you find out where you can register your premises as well as where to pick up the appropriate RFID electronic ear tags.

For further information or to help you get started visit the iDairy website at www.idairy.org

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Posted Jun 8th

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