01/19/09 Old & New

Old to New. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. The brand. It has long been the way cattleman kept tabs on their cattle even when they became mixed with other herds in the days of the open range and the cowboy. The brand was recognized far and wide/ Brand inspectors with the Oregon Department of Agriculture are setting aside the pen and paper in favor of hand held computers to record important livestock information. The change over to electronic recording should provide the same benefits as the old paper system, but with a few key upgrades. State Veterinarian Dr. Don Hansen says the information regarding livestock will be immediately accessible. HANSEN: The information, once it is gathered, can be used in follow-ups to prove ownership and to do theft investigations. And on the animal health side, we can have information on animal locations that could be very helpful in controlling a disease outbreak. Under the paper system, it might be days before the information is transferred into a database. The current plan is for brand inspectors to use hand held computers at the state's eight auction markets, and then expand the electronic system to field inspections later. Paying for the new system shouldn't be a problem. HANSEN: The electronic pieces of equipment are being purchased through the use of a federal grant. So there is no cost to the brands program for equipment. Information collected during livestock brand inspection activities deals with animal location, identifcation, and proof of ownership. Now, inspectors have a new tool to help them gather, organize, and store that information. Hansen says it would take no time at all for anyone to access information collected by inspectors through the hand held computers. HANSEN: As soon as the information is transferred, they will have it to work with as opposed to the current system, which is now collected- it's a paper system, it arrives at the office several days later. Hansen explains what the ODA's Brand Inspection Program is attempting to do at this time. HANSEN: Replace our paper system, over time, with an electronic version of the same information. By doing this, we should be able to become much more efficient in our work and actually be more cost effective. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.