Community Pastures

The Canadian Cattle Identification Program is an industry-led initiative designed to promote beef consumption through assurance of efficient traceback and containment of serious animal health and food safety problems. The program is regulated and enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

	Encourage your patrons to tag their animals for the good of the beef cattle industry.
	Register your pasture with CCIA. The exemptions for community pastures has been eliminated. All cattle leaving the herd of origin must be tagged even if its returning to the herd of origin.
	Keep records of the origin of cattle coming to pasture.
	The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced a regulatory amendment that requires all cattle to be tagged prior to leaving their farm of origin, including those going to community pasture, exhibition site, test station or veterinary clinic (unless going to an approved tagging site).
	Community Pastures may apply to be a tagging site and/or dealer of tags.
	Keep a record of the ID number of animals that have been re-tagged after losing a tag, along with any information about their origin.
	Under no circumstance should a CCIA tag be removed from an animal that is already tagged. *See bottom of page for more information.
	If you apply a CCIA tag to an animal that already has one, you must report the cross-referenced numbers to the CCIA.
	CCIA tags must not be re-used.

Note:

	The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency is an industry conceived, developed and run organization
	The Canadian Cattle Identification Program makes traceback and containment of serious animal health and food safety problems faster and more efficient, which helps keep customers buying Canadian beef and cattle.
	This program is regulated and enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

July 1, 2010
All cattle must be tagged with an approved Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag prior to moving from their current location or leaving their farm of origin.

Requirements for producers:
Leave the bar-coded tag in AND apply an RFID tag to the same animal. Cross-reference the RFID tag with the bar-coded tag in the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS).

Please Note:
Tampering with and/or cutting out an approved tag is prohibited by regulations.

Cross-referencing the data will mean that all of the events uploaded by the producer against the tag and the history of the animal will be maintained. Producers can log onto their accounts at www.clia.livestockid.ca to cross-reference tags or contact the CCIA office at 1-877-909-BEEF (2333).

Cattle that arrived on pastures with bar-coded tags before July 1, 2010, will not need to be immediately retagged and until December 31, 2010 are allowed to be transported to their home farm where an approved tag can be applied. If, however, the animal is leaving the pasture and is not going to the farm from which it came, it must have a new approved tag affixed when leaving the pasture.