No mercy for thieves

[ActionBob]

Thoes tags were shown here and was supposed to allow tracking to the original ranch by the usda
I don’t know any one that got them.

The cost was way to high when it came out.
And here we have a lot of cows but it’s a lot of people with small heards.
The last time I saw the numbers I want to say the average farm had 55 or less cows.

This includes a genetic sample tool so that the animal can be verified even without the tag.

Would have worked to prove the kid's steers referenced earlier.

 

[farmer_john]

Who was selling your friend’s steers? There are other justice remedies available and handled privately.

He should still be able to find out the seller info

 

[Betterinthebush]

Thoes tags were shown here and was supposed to allow tracking to the original ranch by the usda
I don’t know any one that got them.

The cost was way to high when it came out.
And here we have a lot of cows but it’s a lot of people with small heards.
The last time I saw the numbers I want to say the average farm had 55 or less cows.

I no longer am a shadow in herd or flock size of where I was a year ago. And I was tiny by anyone’s standards then. But, and this is just me, the (I think) $21/head tag was cheap for the value it represented.

 

[Flbt]

View attachment 735441
That is the unique USDA number on the tag and that is what an electronic scanner will bring up. You register your farm with USDA and report the series of numbered tags you buy. Then when a processor scans the tag they can trace it back to the source. If the farm sold it as a calf or feeder, they should have records showing the sale. In addition to theft, it allows food traceability which for example if a carcass comes back positive for antibiotics or something, it can be traced. Good for consumers and consumer confidence.

I don't get your herd size reference. These tags are an individual investment per head. Not a herd size dependent technology.

Yea I know what they are. The farms here did not want them. At least when they first came out don’t know much about the last 5 years like I did before.
Heard size that I was talking about. Was just really a comment no reason behind it more than just bring up the difference how things are done in different places.
But if I remember right when they first came out with the chip idea. We sat down and figured it would take 5 steers to pay for the stuff to do it. My dad said no way in hell.
That was also back when the average sell barn price was 0.55-0.70 per head 300-350 calf prices.
After dad died I got a farm I’d number never got around to buying the kit to tag the cows.

For id we tattoo there lip.

 

[ActionBob]

Yea I know what they are. The farms here did not want them. At least when they first came out don’t know much about the last 5 years like I did before.
Heard size that I was talking about. Was just really a comment no reason behind it more than just bring up the difference how things are done in different places.
But if I remember right when they first came out with the chip idea. We sat down and figured it would take 5 steers to pay for the stuff to do it. My dad said no way in hell.
That was also back when the average sell barn price was 0.55-0.70 per head 300-350 calf prices.
After dad died I got a farm I’d number never got around to buying the kit to tag the cows.

For id we tattoo there lip.

I suspect most of the resistance was from the traceability. They were probably worried they'd get caught for antibiotics violations or just paranoid of have the animal traceable by the government.

Yea you can spend a lot if you want the full dammit. But for the ID purposes you can but a bag of 20 or 25 tags and probably already have the pliers to put them in. That gets you the ID on the animal.

Now if you want the tag readers and computer programs to use them for management yes that costs extra. And then how far do you want to go? Automated sort gates, milk wieghts, scales for individual cattle wieghts, etc.

But you don't have to buy all that. You can spend probably under $5.

 

[Flbt]

I no longer am a shadow in herd or flock size of where I was a year ago. And I was tiny by anyone’s standards then. But, and this is just me, the (I think) $21/head tag was cheap for the value it represented.

Well when they first came out here the place that was selling them wanted (again guessing but should be close) $600 for the reader and it let you put in your farm #
$ 200 for the implant gun
And i think it $28 for the implant
This would have been per 2010
There was only one place with in 100 miles that we knew sold the equipment.

I really thank that’s close to the price of the stuff back then. So much stuff has happened between then and now. I would have had the info in the cow book but that all went up in a house fire.
I am not really complaining about the chips just saying what dad did or had me do.
I don’t really mess with cows much anymore except rase a few to kill .

 

[Betterinthebush]

I suspect most of the resistance was from the traceability. They were probably worried they'd get caught for antibiotics violations or just paranoid of have the animal traceable by the government.

Yea you can spend a lot if you want the full dammit. But for the ID purposes you can but a bag of 20 or 25 tags and probably already have the pliers to put them in. That gets you the ID on the animal.

Now if you want the tag readers and computer programs to use them for management yes that costs extra. And then how far do you want to go? Automated sort gates, milk wieghts, scales for individual cattle wieghts, etc.

But you don't have to buy all that. You can spend probably under $5.

Thanks AB, it’s been so long since we tagged initially that I forgot what the cost was. Plus, we had our vet place the tags that day and she was preg checking and pulling bloodwork, so, no wonder my numbers are way off/head.

 

[Beck]

I am not a rancher. Reading the comments in this post, have helped me understand the loss. That said, I could never shoot someone for stealing my TV or whatever. Now, on the other hand, fuck with my family and find out...

 

[ActionBob]

Well when they first came out here the place that was selling them wanted (again guessing but should be close) $600 for the reader and it let you put in your farm #
$ 200 for the implant gun
And i think it $28 for the implant
This would have been per 2010
There was only one place with in 100 miles that we knew sold the equipment.

I really thank that’s close to the price of the stuff back then. So much stuff has happened between then and now. I would have had the info in the cow book but that all went up in a house fire.
I am not really complaining about the chips just saying what dad did or had me do.
I don’t really mess with cows much anymore except rase a few to kill .

Well that is for sure very old info. When we started with the RFID or EID tags, I do believe they gave us a free tagger for every so many tags we bought. And the readers are all over the board. You can get a reader that blue tooth connects to your smart phone. But I seem to recall paying $300 for some readers and $80 comes to mind for a very basic... but again, you do not need a reader to participate in the program.

Here you go. $1.32 each tag. Under $3 each to do the first 25 head including the applicator. Of course the next several hundred will cost that $1.32 each if you don't break the pliers I really don't think cost is an issue to use this technology to ID your cattle.

 

[CBH Australia]

We have the Allflex Tags in Australia and they were bringing in RFID tags for sheep and goats but I’m no longer in that space so I’m not up with the rules.

We have vendor decs ,MLA rules , earmarks and branding but some people still do dodgy stuff.

 

[ActionBob]

Thanks AB, it’s been so long since we tagged initially that I forgot what the cost was. Plus, we had our vet place the tags that day and she was preg checking and pulling bloodwork, so, no wonder my numbers are way off/head.

Don't get me wrong, we spend a lot of money on these technologies. We have dozens of the readers and at least a dozen computers with programs to manage the cattle. But it is a huge labor saver! Back when I did the work myself, I had a clipboard with several pages listing the cows numerically by group. I'd hang it on a post and reference it then go find the cow and give her the shot she needed. I'd work cattle alone a lot because at the time I only had about 250 and I could usually just walk up behind them in a freestall or at the feedbunk and get a shot in quickly.

I remember one evening I went back to my list to find a cow eating it!

Nowadays the herds people work them in rails or headlocks. One person scanning and another doing the shots. The hand held computers sort through the lists instantaneously instead of flipping through many pages. Two people can do the work that used to take five.

We are on track to put 30,000 of these tags into our newborn calves in 2026.

However, you can start using the technology for simple ID for a very small investment.

 

[Flbt]

Well that is for sure very old info. When we started with the RFID or EID tags, I do believe they gave us a free tagger for every so many tags we bought. And the readers are all over the board. You can get a reader that blue tooth connects to your smart phone. But I seem to recall paying $300 for some readers and $80 comes to mind for a very basic... but again, you do not need a reader to participate in the program.

View attachment 735455View attachment 735456

Here you go. $1.32 each tag. Under $3 each to do the first 25 head including the applicator. Of course the next several hundred will cost that $1.32 each if you don't break the pliers I really don't think cost is an issue to use this technology to ID your cattle.

Agree with you now. But bake then especially with low cattle prices it was.

From what I remember the chip were blank and you had to have the reader to put your farm info on it
I really don’t remember everything exactly but with the price of cows today it probably worth. It.

 

[ActionBob]

Agree with you now. But bake then especially with low cattle prices it was.

From what I remember the chip were blank and you had to have the reader to put your farm info on it
I really don’t remember everything exactly but with the price of cows today it probably worth. It.

That would not have been the USDA 840 tags. That was probably some proprietary thing going around when the RFID technology was just starting.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Who was selling your friend’s steers? There are other justice remedies available and handled privately.

@Scott CWO
The old Irish method still works well.
A bullet in the knee cap. The never walk properly again, can't get on a horse and are branded for life. A great message to other would be rustlers
Bob
Years ago our local mayor in my home town was arrested for cattle duffing( stealing unbranded cattle). He got a lengthy prison sentence.
His daughter was at the local drive in movies with her partner doing what nature calls a man and woman to do in a car at night ( definitely wasn't driving the car but driving something else).
They were in a small mini minor, seat laid back, her stark naked and him on top. Problem was at the break all you could hear was help, help.
They had locked the car and he had his foot caught in the glove compartment and couldn't move.
They had to call the fire brigade to unlock the door and use the jaws of life to cut the glove compartment up to get his foot out.
Definitely far more interesting than the movie and the head line in the local paper made sure everyone in town knew
MAYORS DAUGHTER RESCUED AT THE LOCAL DRIVE IN. Unfortunately they didn't publish any of the photos people took

 

[JimP]

Who was selling your friend’s steers? There are other justice remedies available and handled privately.

I have no idea and it was twenty or so years ago, plus they moved to Oklahoma and I haven't kept up with them since their move.

 

[Mountainshadows]

Livestock brands are required in my state. A brand inspection from a state brand inspector is a requirement to transport across county lines. If cattle go to the sale barn and you have a cow that doesn't have your brand and you don't have a bill of sale, the money for that cow will be held for the owner of that brand. You don't hear much about cattle theft here.
The only outfit I know that did something other than branding, was the Angus bull production neighbors of mine, and they used to tattoo the lip as I recall. They may use those electronic gizmos now as they sold a bull a year two ago for $80,000 (best I recall).

 

[Flbt]

Livestock brands are required in my state. A brand inspection from a state brand inspector is a requirement to transport across county lines. If cattle go to the sale barn and you have a cow that doesn't have your brand and you don't have a bill of sale, the money for that cow will be held for the owner of that brand. You don't hear much about cattle theft here.
The only outfit I know that did something other than branding, was the Angus bull production neighbors of mine, and they used to tattoo the lip as I recall. They may use those electronic gizmos now as they sold a bull a year two ago for $80,000 (best I recall).

Back in the early 00s with the black angus association we had to tat the lips or ears as part of there paper work.

I have not heard of it here in 25 years or longer. But there was roving bands of cattle thieves or butcher thieves don’t know what you would call it
That would kill cows in the field and take the meat .
And from what I was told they were suprising quick about it and got more meat than you would think.

 

[Sideshow]

Most nowadays have an EID in their ear. Not very discrete other than if it is cut out the hole will still be there.
View attachment 735439View attachment 735440

Really need to change this to IED ear tags would solve the issue of stolen cows really fast. Free blood an bone for the land owner too!