By David Hecimovich

The WSDA Animal Disease Traceability Program supports the state veterinarian by quickly identifying infected or exposed animals during an animal disease outbreak.  Several projects have been completed to build infrastructure at markets and harvest facilities in recent years.  While continuing to support those efforts, new projects will continue to build capacity for rapid response and containment to protect our livestock industry.

Markets

Over the last few years, WSDA has worked to upgrade existing market systems management software to speed up commerce and provide electronic tools to improve efficiency.  Six Washington livestock markets are now using the Saletime Veterinary Module that allows the market veterinarian to combine animal information collected at the vet chute with consignor or consignee information. This can then produce electronic health certificates, brucellosis vaccinations, and Trichomoniasis test records. The module is adaptable to meet each market veterinarian’s specific needs. The current software architecture is used to read Low Frequency RFID tags, but it is expandable to read High Frequency RFID tags.

Harvest Facilities

RFID tag reading equipment was installed at LimitBid Packing in Odessa and Pure Country Harvest in Moses Lake. This brings the total number of USDA inspected slaughter facilities reporting RFID tags for tag retirement to six facilities. This increased our RFID tag retirement capability to 99.1% of all cattle slaughtered in the state.

New Projects in 2021

Thanks to your input from the ADT Program fall survey, two new pilot projects have been selected to enhance traceability in 2021. The first project provides free, official 840 RFID tags to youth for agricultural exhibitions. The second project aims to make handheld readers more available to producers. 

Places of commingling of animals present unique risks for disease outbreaks, such as agricultural exhibitions. The objectives of the voluntary projects are to increase use of official identification of fair cattle and swine to promote rapid disease response and containment, use of electronic certificates of veterinarian inspection (CVIs) for interstate movement, and eliminate costs for youth exhibitors to purchase official electronic identification for exhibition.

The ADT program teamed with Allflex and WSU Extension to provide free RFID tags and 3- digit FAIR visual tags for fair cattle and swine. Tags will be applied at weigh in/exhibition at Benton, Franklin, and Grant county fairs. Other interested fairs will be invited to participate after the processes are refined. 

In the last two years, 85 hand held readers have been distributed to veterinarians across the state. The objective of the second project is to expand the scope of that effort to extension and producer groups. WSDA will partner with WSU Extension, fairs and county cattlemen’s associations to increase availability, education, outreach and training on the use of handheld readers. WSDA is working to get readers in the hands of key association leaders and extension agents. Please contact David Hecimovich (dhecimovich@agr.wa.gov) for more information or to request a reader for member/organization use.