RFID Readers

[farmers_son]

I see there was a program to assist with the cost of purchasing a RFID reader. The program is ending mid February or the end of February.

Has anyone had any experience with these readers? What works, what does not work. Which one is best and how much do they cost.

Thanks.

[smcgrath76]

The program applies to feedlots, auctions, etc. There is another program more suited to primary producers that is offered through Verified Beef Production. www.verifiedbeef.org
Like EFP you have to be certified (which means keeping records and an audit) and then the program will rebate up to 50% of the cost of a reader (up to $750). They will also cover things like squeeze chutes or record keeping software.
Typically readers range from $450 (cabled), to $1000-$1500 (bluetooth - wireless), to $2500 (panel readers). There are all kinds of options including built into a PDA, however these typically have shorter read ranges.
I have used a lot of allflex, and been exposed to YTex as well. The Allflex stuff is good, and the cheapest I have seen the bluetooth wand is right around $1050.
We are in the process of purchasing a reader, but I am very cheap so have been shopping around a lot, and even considering trying to build my own (not likely to happen).
The Cow Sense Store has good deals, and it might be worth seeing if your local retailer will match them.

[kato]

I don't know what other provinces are like, but in Manitoba, to get the rebate you have to buy a neck extender for your chute first.

I have no idea why, but since we have no intention of buying an extender I guess we're out of luck. I attended the course and everything, but this requirement makes no sense to me. You use up the rebate on an extender you don't want and there's nothing left for the reader. Our vet says all her customers who have neck extenders take them off unless it's on a fancy hydraulic chute, where they seem to work better.

We have been looking at an Allflex reader too, but need a bit of an improvement in cattle prices before we'll write the cheque.

[smcgrath76]

I wonder if there are volume discounts? If there was enough interest I could try to pull some of my connections and see what we could get for a deal.
We had thought about buying the reader and then renting it out to help cost recovery.
I did find a bluetooth Destron one on the Cowsense store for $550 or so, but they can't sell to a Canadian as a Canadian has this territory. The Canuck did not respond to my email inquiry, so if we go that route the reader may have to go to a cousin in the US and then be mailed north.

[smcgrath76]

My long term goal with a reader is several fold. assist in record keeping, read tags into my blackberry via bluetooth, and work on moving up the value chain with information, just for starters.

[farmers_son]

I see a lot of uses. Do the cattle have to be in a chute or will it read farther away?

[farmers_son]

I found the notice re the RFID readers:

Email/Letter to Potential Participants

December 19, 2007

Subject: Canadian Radio Frequency Identification (CRFID) Reader Program

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) would like to take this opportunity to remind you about the Canadian Radio Frequency Identification Reader program.

If you work in the cattle and/or bison industry beyond the farm gate and are one of the following groups, you may be eligible to receive up to 50% of the price of approved Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers – up to a maximum of $1,000 for each hand-held reader and up to a maximum of $3,000 for each panel reader:

• Slaughter or processing plant

• Sales Barn/Stockyard/Auction Market

• Veterinarian

• Veterinarian School or University

• Pathology Lab (private)

• Mobile Butcher

• Dead Stock Operator

• Commercial Livestock Trucker

• Commercial Feedlot

• Grazing Co-operative/Community Pasture



Note: Applicants who have purchased multiple readers must provide a written statement from the vendor that the vendor is familiar with the applicant’s operation and that the applicant requires multiple readers.

RFID readers will allow you to electronically read the identification number on cattle or bison RFID tags. This can help you:

• Report required information to Agri-Traçabilité Québec (ATQ) or the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA).

• Confirm that cattle and bison being shipped or received are tagged (as required by regulations).

• Integrate RFID identifiers with your cattle or bison management records.



The Reader program is available only until February 15, 2008. To take advantage of this opportunity or to find out more, call the AAFC Client Service Centre at 1-800-667-8567 or visit www.agr.gc.ca/reader.

For more information on RFID readers, contact:

Agri-Traçabilité Québec at 1-866-270-4319 or visit www.agri-tracabilite.qc.ca

Canadian Cattle Identification Agency at 1-877-909-2333 or visit www.canadaid.com

[grassfarmer]

Call me a luddite if you will but I'm more a pen and piece of paper guy. I think that most cattle operations would manage just fine with those tried and tested old tools. My ears tend to close when a slick computer salesman tries to sell me a magic computer program that will revolutionise my cattle management. In fact most of the programs can only rearrange and present back to me in a different format the information I have already fed into them. As I see it the only benefit is speed of calculations or speed of reading tags in case of an IED reader. On my operation there is no job we do with the cattle where the identification process is holding up any procedure we do with them. Simple management tags, knowledge of my cattle gleaned through being interested in them and spending time with them make these fancy tools unnecessary for me.
I accept that in a feedlot or huge number of cattle situation with teams of workers there may be more need for computer technology. On most beef cattle operations however I see this as being just another way to sell expensive inputs to producers.

[farmers_son]

Well I confess I like electronic gadgets. And if the government wants to pay half the cost then that might make it affordable. I could get along without one of these outfits but then on the other hand if the cost is reasonable with a little imagination they could be useful too.

[per]

Even though I love playing with all this fun and exciting new technology I couldn't agree with you more grassfarmer. Installing the tags and cross referencing to my visual system and at slaughter are the only times my rfid tags are likely to be read. The tag number that comes up in my PDA is the one I can read in the bush from 30m. The computer remembers the rfid #. No need for an expensive reader here.

[kato]

We like to record the numbers of the feeders we buy. Maybe I'm being fussy, but I really like to have that number in case we have to replace a tag with one of our own. It would speed up the record keeping when we treat, and sort to sell too. This also gives us a backup in case of lost tags.

And I love gadgets too. LOL