RFID Tags available from DHIA

The bovine industry has settled on Radio Frequency chipped eartags as the best management practice for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). RFID technology has been in the news a lot lately, with the Defense Department and Walmart both requiring their suppliers to RFID tag all shipments. 

 

The tag that we will be using for bovines in the NAIS system is a button tag, about the size of a silver dollar.  That tag contains an RFID chip which is about the size of a grain of rice.  That chip contains ONLY the 15 digit unique animal identification number.  There is a long piece of copper wire that is wound around inside the tag. It is connected to the chip and serves as an antenna. 

 

The chip is passive, containing no power source.  The number contained on the chip is picked up when a special RFID reader tuned to the precise frequency of the tag sends a signal exciting the chip.  The tag is designed for one time use, and cannot be programmed or removed from the cow.  The 15 digit number is written on the outside of the tag, in the rare event that the number cannot be read electronically.  Your Premise number is considered confidential information and should not be printed on the tag, and cannot be included electronically.  Tracking of premises will be done in the confidential database. 

 

If you order 50 tags, you will get a free tag applicator.  You do not get to choose the color or numbers on the tags.  Minnesota DHIA handles RFID tags from ZeeTag, Fearing (Digital Angel), and All Flex.  All tags are $2.50 each, plus shipping and sales tax.

 

We also offer all sizes of management tags, including button tags that do not contain RFID chips.  Many customers have used the button tags in place of steel tags for years, due to ease of readability and the high tag retention rate of the button tags.  You can order RFID tags in tandem with management tags, with the RFID number or bar code containing that number included on your corresponding management tag.

 

Producers will be able to continue to use the steel tags for a short period of time, and may need to retag young animals in the future when it is not so easy to tag them.  USDA will accept the non-RFID button tags with the 8-digit American ID printed on them for at least the next few years.

 

Animals will need to be tagged before they leave the farm of origin, and the tags will be assigned to a premise when ordered from the manufacturer.  This pretty much eliminates DHIA personnel from the tagging system.  DHIA’s role will be to demonstrate proper tag placement, provide educational information, record and report animal movement for producers who wish DHIA to do that for them, make tags available to customers, and provide a seamless tracking system so that DHIA producers will see little change, other than using a different tag.  Much of this is already in place in the Minnesota DHIA system.

 

Tag should be inserted in the left ear, close to head, between the middle two cartilage ribs, with numbers on the inside

 

National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Update

On farm software updates being sent out at renewal (starting in December) will update your software to handle the Premise ID and new RFID numbers. 

 

We are now able to handle the Premise ID number(s) in the Field Rep computers.  Please give your Premise ID to your Field Rep on sample day only if you would like DHIA to forward basic data to the state systems.  We are currently working with the Board of Animal Health to submit the minimal transaction data (animals sold or purchased, animals retagged, and tags assigned to your premise) for those herds who want to start participating.  Minnesota law protects the data in the system from being accessed by any private entity.

 

 

Minnesota Johne’s Update

 

Minnesota currently has about 1,600 Dairy herds (about 28% of the herds in the state), and about 200 beef herds enrolled in the Johne’s testing program. This makes Minnesota one of the leading states in the nation for Johne’s testing. Over 400 of those herds have attained a Negative Status level. There has been a steady increase in the number of herds enrolled, and the goal for the coming year is to increase the number to over 2,300. Thirty herds that started in the program as Positive have now achieved Negative Level status.

 

The Board of Animal Health will continue to pay for testing for new herds. This starts with a Pre-screening of Fecal Culturing of Environmental Samples (from Manure pits, alleys, dry lots, etc), and a Risk Assessment done by a certified Veterinarian. If the Environmental Samples test negative, the herd is eligible for the National Test Negative Status Program. If the Pre-screening is positive, the BAH will pay for Elisa Blood testing for 30 cows, fecal culturing if some of those cows are Elisa test positive, and development of a Herd Management Plan.

 

Since program participation is increasing, and funding is not proportionally increasing, some changes need to be made. Future funding of the program for individual dairy producers who are enrolled in the program will be dependant upon their implementation of management practices recommended by Risk Assessment / Herd Management Plans (RA/HMP).

 

We are involved in the use of RFID tags as part of the Johnes test program on 2 project herds. This includes tagging of animals and the use of readers to identify sampled animals, barcode labels for the samples, electronic transfer of herd information to the Diagnostic Laboratory through the DHIA computer system, a matching of test results to the correct animals at the lab, and the electronic transfer of those results through DHIA back to the on-farm Dairy Comp program. The goal is to improve accuracy and reduce data entry.  The possibility of future use of Milk ELISA testing (instead of Blood Elisa) is being discussed. If that happens, DHIA Field Representatives will be directly involved since the DHIA samples could be used for the Milk ELISA Johne’s testing.

 

 

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The January Dairy Comp 305 Report is a Calf Table showing the outcomes of calvings during 2005, including % heifers and calf

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New Processing System

Effective with sample days in 2006, DHIA reports are now being processed in the long awaited “New System” that has been developed over the last 5 years by AgriTech Analytics (ATA) of Visalia California, in close cooperation with Minnesota DHIA.  Please call us at 800.927.3442 if you see any problems with your reports out of the new system.

 

ATA processes records from over one million cows monthly, mostly from the western United States.  It is the second largest DHIA Dairy Records Processing Center (DRPC).  It was recently purchased by Holstein USA.  Building the New System is like building a new milking facility, rather than the approach used by other DRPCs of just adding to the old barn. The change in data handling enables more flexibility in current reports and future services, greater ability to benchmark, and brings all the data from the Western US and MN into one data processing system.  The system is being implemented first with Minnesota DHIA. 

 

As the new system is phased in, you will see new formats on reports, new reports, more flexibility on what is on your reports, as well as new calculations. These will be implemented as they are developed.  This spring, we will also be offering all reports by email or fax to multiple locations, and the option of not printing those reports, with a discount to be determined.  Your Field Rep will show you a new options screen and help you enroll in what you want, starting from what you currently get.

 

For the first few months of the phase in, here are some of the changes you will note:

1. Record calculations are being made using the Best Prediction method, developed by USDA to better calculate estimated cows and cows with gaps in sample days and missing sample results.  You may see a small change in your Rolling Herd Average because of the use of this new method.  Simply put, Best Prediction uses the herd and cow history, as well as expected milk, to estimate missing production or components.  In the old Test Interval calculation, a sick cow had her production estimated based on a percentage of the last test, which almost always underestimated her production.  Also in the old system, a cow with a missing sample had the previous sample value used to calculate the record until the next good sample day.  In come cases, a cow in early lactation would have a very high fat test.  If she were not sampled again for 60 to 90 days or longer, that high first test would create an artificially high fat record.  The Best Prediction method handles this kind of data better and more fairly.
2. The Reproduction Report now is in portrait instead of landscape, and most production data has been removed. The report now includes more cows and larger print.
3. The Pregnancy Rate that appears in the Pregnant Animals section of the Reproduction Summary on the Herd Summary is now calculated differently.  Preg rate is best explained as the % chance that an average open cow past the voluntary wait period will become pregnant in the next 21 days. The calculation can be performed independently of heat detection rate and conception rate, but does require the reporting of the results of pregnancy exams in a timely manner. The old calculation started with the first time a cow was bred, resulting in some data that was slightly rosier than reality.  Take for instance a cow that was bred for the first time at 225 days and became pregnant to that breeding.  She would contribute a preg rate of 100% to the herd average, which would not accurately reflect the breeding program evaluation of the herd.  The new calculation starts with cows that are 50 days in milk, and results in a number that more accurately reflects the spirit of Pregnancy Rate.  It is likely the Pregnancy Rate will drop using the new calculation.  To see the benchmark numbers or the new Pregnancy Rate calculations from MNDHIA, please see the scorecard on our website, www.mndhia.org or look in the mid January issue of the Dairy Star.  The current average Pregnancy Rate (new calculation) is 13%.
4. MUN values now appear on the Condensed Report.  Changes in the report include MUN in the Rolling Herd Average section at the bottom of page one, and a new summary section on the top of page 2 that includes breakdowns by lactation, stage of lactation, and pen.  Individual MUN values are listed with other production data in the body of the report.  The old multi-page MUN report has been discontinued.  The condensed report is included in electronic form to all consultants who access your herd data from DHIA’s Loop system.
5. The old single sided small print herd summary has been discontinued.  Less than 7% of customers were still getting this report, which was replaced by the enhanced 2-sided herd summary report nearly a decade ago.  No changes had been made in the calculations on the old herd summary, and it no longer met the specs from USDA.  All data included on the old herd summary is included on the Herd Summary.
6. The mailer page includes new information on the options you are on, the costs, the table on how much SCC costs you in lost production, and more.
7. The youngstock report is more complete (and prettier).

Congratulations to December Milk Quality Leaders

	SCC	Cows			SCC	Cows
PRAHL DAIRY	37	30		RUECHEL DAIRY FARM	91	79
DAVID/BUCK	47	65		KIMM'S DAIRY	92	82
KEITH/ROOT	52	38		TLK FARMS/	93	61
SCHEFERS BROS/	53	78		DAVID/SCHUUR	94	51
JEFF/BLENKER	59	32		KEVIN/ANDERSON	95	45
NORBERT/BROWN	61	44		DOUG/KES	95	46
SIBERT FARMS	61	47		ROSENTRETER BROS/	95	58
SWENSON DAIRY	62	47		JERRY + BEV/POHLMANN	95	68
LAYNE/JANIKE	63	17		SAPA SKA FARM INC/	95	81
PHILIP/HAUGE	65	42		ROBERT/MARG	97	23
JOHNSON TURKEY + DAIRY/	66	26		RICHARD/RISLOW	97	51
RONALD AND SUSAN/JOHNSON	66	58		RICK/HEUER	97	82
JOHN/NATHE	68	229		BOB & TERRI/KETCHUM	98	118
HABERER HILL DAIRY	70	19		ROBERT/KALLEMEYN	99	77
JOHN/ROBERS	70	20		IDLEGOLD GUERNSEY	100	103
TONY/STAEBLER	71	66		TRAVIS & GARY/LEHNERTZ	101	36
LESLIE+TERESA/BIERBAUM	72	46		BRED & BUTTER DAIRY/	102	62
DAVE/STEMIG	73	55		JOHN + KARYL/DIERSEN	102	113
MARVIN/NELDNER	74	21		DAVID/HALLBERG+STEPH LARS	103	56
MARK & CARLA/BRUNHOLZL	76	23		DEVOINE/KRUSE	103	137
OAK GLEN/JOHNS	77	28		SCOTT/FELDHACKER	104	60
CLYDE R/JOHNSON	78	40		DAVID H/ROTT	104	122
MARK/KLEHR	78	54		MIKE/MENZE	106	67
KIRK/SCHLEMMER	78	56		JOHN W/WENNINGER	107	37
RONALD/HARFF	79	40		ANTHONY/LEMMER	107	45
JAMES C/PFEIFER	79	58		DALE AND JULIE/SCHWARTZ	107	98
HARVEY + TIM/HINRICHS	79	60		DONALD/KAISER	109	43
FRANK/PATRICK	80	56		SCHREIBER BROS/	109	89
JOHN+MARY/RADEMACHER	80	82		ORIN/OSTLUND	110	22
WAYNE & KATHERINE/VOTH	80	110		RONALD/FIELD	110	32
OAK RIDGE DAIRY	81	44		LEO/LENZMEIER	110	52
PAUL & MARY/ZIMMERMAN	81	59		KEVIN & SHEILA/THARALDSON	110	55
JEROME/LEE	82	21		DANIEL/HALLBERG	110	62
KEVIN & CARAL/SCHAFER	82	33		MIKE + MANDI/HOERNEMANN	110	86
WALLACE + ROGER/BRADLEY	82	34		STEVE/MARTIN	111	50
DARREL + LISA/MAUS	82	64		DEAN + ELIZABETH/JOHNSON	111	68
SCHRIEVER DAIRY/	82	118		VON WAHLDE DAIRY	111	90
DEAN/RAUSCH	83	62		LYLE AND WANDA/HONEBRINK	111	94
GARY/BECKMAN	83	69		ACKERMAN FARMS/	111	106
FJEL-MAR DAIRY	83	113		BECHTOLD BROS/	112	123
LARRY/BRAEM	84	36		TRIPLE H DAIRY	112	132
KB HILLSIDE DAIRY/	85	50		DEAN/SWENSON	113	35
GOODVUE AYR FARMS II	85	59		JAMES A. & BETH/OLSON	113	62
LARRY AND SHARON/WISTE	86	27		FRED/VIERE	113	83
RICHARD/SCHNOBRICH	87	43		STEVE H/REMIGER	114	60
RALPH/SWIGGUM	87	58		JOPPS CENTURY FARMS	114	89
L & D DAIRY	87	296		AIMEE/FINLEY	114	90
CRONK DAIRY	89	35		DAVID AND DONNA/ANDERSON	115	37
RON AMY SHAWN/BEMBOOM	89	87		ZUMBRO VIEW FARMS LLC	115	47