With traditional management methods, livestock producers
had no option but to treat herds as mobs. Decisions were
based on averages, and conclusions could only be
implemented across whole herds. The larger a herd
became, the less accurate these management practices
were.
Hours were spent restraining
animals to view dirty identification tags. Transcription
errors were made while manually recording numbers.
Countless hours were spent back in the office
documenting and analysing the collected information. To
make things worse, action could only be implemented the
next time cattle were in the yards!
Today, individual animal
management is possible. Producers can monitor the
performance of individual animals during their entire
production cycle. They can identify inconsistencies in
this data (cattle that perform outside the required
break-even range). They can make decisions and implement
their conclusions on an animal-by-animal basis while in
the race.
This enables producers to
manage large volumes of cattle with a level of ease and
accuracy unprecedented in the livestock industry until
now.
Now with the introduction of
the National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS)
database for Australia, the benefits of using RFID (or
electronic identification also known as EID) is
becoming increasingly more evident. The Australian NLIS
database is the largest and most sophisticated livestock
database and management system currently in the world.
The database was established in response to the European
Union's demand for a tamper proof animal electronic identification
and trace back system. Read more on the
NLIS Scheme.
Further reading:
Click here to read
how Aleis International can introduce you to the new way
of RFID / Electronic ID for Livestock Management
For
more information on RFID, NLIS, EID contact Aleis International today
