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Students assist research on electronic cattle ID
DICKINSON, N.D. (AP)--An effort to outfit cattle with electronic identification tags is keeping student interns busy at a North Dakota State University research center near here.
The group is working with the Calf AID pilot project, among the biggest of its kind in the United States, researcher Mick Riesinger said.
Kris Ringwall, a North Dakota State University livestock specialist, said the program has about 5,000 cattle to tag. The program's goal is to fit twice that many cattle with identification devices.
Producers can sign up to have their cattle tagged. The center team brings a chute to the property and charges $2 per animal as a handling fee.
The program is part of a larger effort by the federal government to improve identification procedures for livestock.
"It's going to be a long process, but the government wants it so it needs to be done," intern Sabrina Belshe said.
Riesinger said using electronic identification is a way to protect the beef industry. He said researchers are trying to work out some of the problems before cattle tagging becomes mandatory.
"It's far better to have input with a program and help develop a program, rather than have a program developed elsewhere," Riesinger said.
"It's been interesting getting in on a project that's in its initial phases," said Iowa State veterinary student Ann Kopp. "That's what I want to do when I get out, is work with cattle."
Date: 7/21/04
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