My name is Kevin Kirk. Welcome to my dairy farm in St. Johns, Michigan.

Michigan today is the only state in the nation that is now using a Radio Frequency Identification Device to track animals back to the herd of origin. This is extremely important because this now meets the Country of Origin labeling program that is now in implementation phase. Consumers when they go to the grocery store can buy both beef and dairy products and know the source and the origin that those animals came from.

It’s also extremely important for tracing animal diseases back to the herd of origin – we can do it within two to four hours because of the use of the Radio Frequency Identification Device.

Michigan dairy producers that are second-generation producers such as myself on this particular farm any my friends in the beef industry as well have a real benefit by using the RFID tag. Michigan consumers will buy Michigan Select products, which is crucial for us to stay in business as well as for the next generation that comes to this particular farm.

Finally, I would say that for disease traceability the RFID tag with that on an animal, we can track that animal within two to four hours to the herd of origin should there be a disease problem.

I as a producer can tie my management records to this tag, about this particular animal – the date it was born, the date it might have been bred, any medical activity, any production activity is tied to this tag.