Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Calf Tags

These two items cost me over $150. That's probably the equivalent to the profit on one calf. It's a big investment. But an investment in the future. My future as a farmer.

I registered our farm with the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency. I bought the approved tags and the applicator tool.

I am ready. Soon we will have the first calves born on our farm, ready, available, and legal for sale.
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6 comments:

  1. LindaMay 15, 2012 at 8:52 PM

    Legal? How so?

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    1. WendyMay 16, 2012 at 4:57 AM

      In Canada you have to have your cows tagged with radio tracking devices before they can leave your farm. That way if there is an outbreak of mad cow disease, or some other threat to the food chain, the agency can quickly track down where the infected animals came from, and where the disease may have spread. The outbreak can be contained without having to destroy all the cattle in the country.

      Nelly and Casper were born here, and aren't tagged. They cannot leave my farm. Dorie and Mindy are from Quebec, which has it's own tagging system. I haven't registered with them, although I could. If I wanted to sell them I'd have to change their tags.

      Up til now I haven't worried about tags because I was feeding my family and expanding my herd. However, if by chance we have three bull calves this year, 2 will be for sale. It's much easier to tag and castrate in the first few days of life, than to try to wrestle a 600 pound bull to the ground a year later. So I bought them now, and I am putting all of my equipment together in a duffel bag, ready to run out the door with the first signs of labour. :)

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  2. herdogMay 15, 2012 at 9:33 PM

    It hurts now but,like you said, its a great investment for your furture. Congrats!

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    1. WendyMay 16, 2012 at 5:00 AM

      Absolutely. I just wish they sold smaller packages of the tags. 25 was the smallest- that could be a 10 year supply for me. Long enough for the government to change the system, lol.

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    2. herdogMay 16, 2012 at 4:12 PM

      yea, I think I heard they were going to change next year. No, just kidding!

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    3. WendyMay 17, 2012 at 8:02 AM

      lol, that's mean!

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