FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 1, 2006
For more information contact:

John Henn, Senior Agriculture Marketing Specialist
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2847

Tom Lacock, Marketing and Public Relations
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2851

Age and Source Verification program gets kicked off

CHEYENNE – With markets for American beef proving restless in the Pacific Rim and around the world, the Wyoming Business Council is rolling out a program designed to help producers satisfy import requirements for Wyoming meat.

John Henn of the Wyoming Business Council begins his Wyoming Verified Program for source and age verification of Wyoming livestock this month. Henn will audit ranch records and act as a third party to verify age of animals, as well as their place of birth.

The program is in place due to restrictions placed on American beef after Mad Cow Disease (BSE) was found in a Canadian animal on a Washington State ranch in 2003. At that time Japan closed its borders to American beef, depriving producers in the states a market that had brought $1.4 billion annually to the U.S. beef industry.

“The impact of this program will benefit the producer financially,” Henn said. “The loss of the Japan market meant a loss that equated to about $150 a head on the finished animal. We hope we can get that back over a period of time when that market re-opens. “Animals that are source and age verified have been getting a premium from buyers and packers here at home.”

Since Mad Cow disease has not been found in any animals under the age of 30 months, several countries around the world are not accepting beef unless its age is certified by a third party and proves to be less than 30 months. The Wyoming Verified program is a Process Certified Program (PVP), which will do just that. Henn will audit rancher records, take care of the necessary United States Department of Agriculture paperwork and then the producer will fit the animal with a radio frequency identification tag (RFID).

The RFID will contain a 15-digit number that corresponds with a number at AgInfoLink’s database. That database will contain animal records, which can follow the animal as it changes hands.

Cost for the process is limited to the price of the tags and enrollment fees – generally $3.25-$3.75 per head.

To be eligible for certification, producers will be required to have verifiable and documented birth dates and a premises ID number. For cattle, the birth records may be individual birth date or the date of the first born with the bull turnout date recorded. These have to be written records for verification and individual animal traceability. Last year’s calf and lamb crop will be eligible to participate in the program as long as birth records were kept and the animals are traceable back to the premise.

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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