Designing a beef traceability system viewed favorably by cow-calf producers

Abstract

Most beef in the US is not traceable in that beef sold at the grocery store cannot be traced back to the farm where the live animal was raised. Traceability could provide many benefits to the beef industry but is often opposed by cow-calf producers. To better understand what type of traceability systems would be supported by cow-calf producers, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas cow-calf producers were administered personal interviews. The sample includes 15 producers who participated in the Integrity Beef Sustainability Pilot project, which includes a traceability component. The interviewees were asked a variety of questions about their experience in the project and traceability in general. Questions include, but are not limited to, the following. What elements of the pilot project did they like or dislike? Based on their experience with the actual pilot program, how would they design an industry-wide traceability program? If a large-scale traceability system were established within the US, should the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) be involved? The interview responses suggest that the pilot program was viewed favorably by the producers and can serve as a guide for establishing industry-wide traceability programs. A favorable program should involve a non-profit institute the producers trust.