CATTLE AGE VERIFICATION KEY TOOL FOR PRODUCERS

The Province is strongly encouraging cattle producers to register age information for their animals to help gain access to international markets.

"In the wake of BSE, accurate age determination for cattle is becoming increasingly important," Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman said. "Canada's advanced cattle identification system, and its ability to track birth date information, gives our livestock producers a real opportunity to increase shares in domestic and international markets.

"There are positive signs that the Japanese market will re-open to Canadian beef in the near future, and having this age information readily available will be crucial," Wartman said. "This system also provides a strong means of age verification to ensure continued access to the U.S. and world markets."

Canadian cattle producers can register the age of their animals through the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency's (CCIA) national cattle identification program. Through the program, each animal is tagged with an ear tag that has a unique identification number, which is tracked in a national database and carries information on the animal's herd of origin. The database can also track birth date information. There is no charge to producers to register this information.

"With the promise of new border openings, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's announcement of birth dates trumping dentition, the CCIA is committed to this value-added component to the Canadian Cattle Identification program," CCIA Board Chair Mabel Hamilton said. "I encourage fellow producers to take advantage of this opportunity."

Hamilton notes that producers who do not have access to a computer can assign a third party to submit on their behalf. To register their animals, producers should visit www.canadaid.ca.

"Thanks to the CCIA, Canada is being viewed as a world leader in cattle identification," Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association President Jason Dean said. "The program gives producers an efficient and relatively easy-to-use tracking and identification system that brings benefits back to the beef industry. With our age verification ability, we should be able to capture a large part of the Japanese market when it does open."

Producers should be aware that they can submit birth date information for their animals going as far back as the 2004 calf crop.

"Age verification is another important tool we can use to get our animals and meat into lucrative markets, and I encourage all Saskatchewan beef producers to take advantage of it," Wartman said.

-30-

For More Information, Contact:

Scott Brown Agriculture and Food Regina Phone: (306) 787-4031