National F.A.I.R. Program Overview
FAIR Resource Guide
(pdf format)
The need for a National Animal Identification System is now greater than ever. Issues such as Food Safety, Animal Health, International Trade, Animal Performance recording and Genetics require unique animal and premises identification for this country to respond to the needs of:
- Producers
- Industry
- Government Agencies
What is National F.A.I.R.?
National F.A.I.R. is an animal identification model that unifies animal identification programs and links animal record systems to provide accurate, complete and cost-effective information that meets the various needs of the industry.
Through the individual animal American Identification Numbering (AIN) system and State Premises Numbers, F.A.I.R. provides the infrastructure and information system that will allow for premises of origin determination, and animal tracking.
What will F.A.I.R. do?
Visible ID Tags:
By using tamperproof visible ID tags that include an American ID and herd management number, an animal can be uniquely identified at birth. An animal with American ID is uniquely identified throughout the world and the American ID number can be used by industry and government while the herd management number can be used by the producer for day-to-day herd managment.
Electronic ID:
By incorporating electronic ID, a cost-effective automated system can be put in place to track animals from farm to market, and market to slaughter. Electronic ID can also be used for herd managment purposes by recording performance information on the farm.
The Information System
The F.A.I.R. Information System provides the electronic capablilites that keep track of all the data that is recorded at the various locations.
F.A.I.R. keeps track of the following key information components:
- Premises (type of premises, GPS coordinates, etc.)
- Animal ID (species, breed, sex, date of birth, etc.)
- Animals at premises
- Animal movement
- health and performance data
