The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA), a nonprofit industry-led group established to protect the safety and health of cattle and beef, is testing whether current RFID technology can provide reliable read rates without slowing the operations at cattle auction markets.
CCIA's membership consists of trade organizations representing livestock producers and meat processors, as well as related organizations.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the CCIA recommend that the Canadian cattle industry install RFID interrogators at all 250 of the nation's auction marketplaces by the end of 2011. Such a deployment would automate the tracking of each animal's arrival and departure. Before that can happen, however, the industry must be convinced the technology is ready.
