Who is U.S. CattleTrace?

While the concept of traceability is not new, there has been a mindset shift in recent years. Historically, concerns about technology, privacy and economic costs have challenged the development of a cattle disease traceability system. Today, industry stakeholders across the United States recognize the need for a viable end-to-end cattle disease traceability system, which provides critical tools to manage a disease outbreak and may provide opportunities to add value to the industry.

 

In January 2020, multiple state cattlemen’s organizations from major beef producing regions announced a partnership to form U.S. CattleTrace, a disease traceability initiative. The goal is to develop a national infrastructure for disease traceability and encourage private industry’s use of the infrastructure for individualized management practices.

 

The new U.S. CattleTrace initiative combines the efforts of CattleTrace, which included multiple partners from across the country, as well as traceability pilot projects in Florida and Texas. The partner organizations include the Kansas Livestock Association, Florida Cattlemen’s Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association. See the full partner list on the Our Partners page.

 

In August 2018, CattleTrace, Inc., was formally established as a private, not-for-profit corporation to securely maintain and manage the data collected for disease traceability. In addition, a Board of Directors was named to lead CattleTrace, Inc. with representation from the cow-calf, livestock market and feedyard sectors. In January 2020, the board voted to formally change the name of the organization to U.S. CattleTrace, Inc. As the program expands and additional partners join the industry-led effort, the structure of U.S. CattleTrace will evolve to fit the needs of the program and be representative of the U.S. cattle industry.