The scramble to source ear tags for the pork sector’s PigTRACE traceability program is over, according to the industry.
PigTRACE recently confirmed that the backlog in approved tags has cleared after about 10 months of supply issues.
Why it matters: The traceability program has been mandatory for producers for years but the ear tags needed for compliance were in short supply through 2021 and 2022.
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Jeff Clark, director of PigTRACE Canada with the Canadian Pork Council, said the backlog was cleared as of Sept. 20, but he waited to announce an end to the issue just to be cautious.
“It was longer than I anticipated in the beginning phases, I’ll tell you that much,” Clark said.
According to PigTRACE, recent tag orders have been processed within one to two weeks. Normal processing times can range up to three weeks.
There was no major disruption to the flow of pigs throughout the shortage, according to Clark, although the sector had to do plenty of “dancing” to avoid problems.
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Cull sows were among the top concerns. Most cull sows are shipped to the U.S. for processing, Clark noted, and processors require government ear tags for all animals.
“That was our biggest concern, that our producers would receive financial penalties for shipping pigs without ear tags,” he said. “Thankfully, to my knowledge, none of that happened. But we were definitely scrambling to find supply and through that period of time, prioritizing orders that were extremely urgent. Some producers have an inventory on hand and they can maybe wait a couple of weeks.”
The pork sector is not the only livestock industry to run into tag supply problems. Earlier this year, the cattle sector also reported issues with getting enough tags from the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA).
Manufacturers had difficulty sourcing materials to make the tags and had staff shortages due to illness. The need to find additional staff to make up production gaps was an additional challenge.
PigTRACE was caught in that net of manufacturing issues, Clark noted.
Supply was further affected by large rounds of tag purchases in late 2021 and spring 2022. By February, Clark had given a list of alternative tag suppliers to producers in hopes of easing the strain.
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The issue also stemmed from internal disruptions at lead tag supplier Allflex Group, according to Clark. The company had been planning to switch its information management platform in the lead up to the backlog.
“Obviously, it did not go without a hitch,” Clark said. “So that was hurdle number one, and then on top of that was legitimate supply chain issues.”
PigTRACE tags are sourced from the same plant as the dairy sector’s DairyTrace program, as well as traceability tags bound for Quebec’s programs, Clark said.
The three sectors met regularly with each other and with the company to ensure the most urgent allocations were met.
The issue spilled into the commercial ear tag market. While those looking for commercial tags had more buying options than those needing government regulatory tags, lack of supply from Allflex also lowered inventory from alternative suppliers.
“It became like a product-wide supply chain shortage,” Clark said.
Attention now turns to preventing future disruptions.
In September, Allflex’s parent company, Merk Animal Health, opened the doors of a new manufacturing facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“This new supply site for ear tag production will complement our existing Dallas [Texas] facility and help us better meet the demands of our swine customers,” a representative from the company said in an emailed statement.
At the same time, PigTRACE had fielded producer requests to develop new tag products, and was looking to diversify its suppliers even before the shortage, Clark noted. Those efforts continue.
