October 01, 2002

ViewTrak Technologies, Inc., an information management company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, has married Canada’s new mandatory cattle identification legislation with Internet-based food source verification, management and traceability.

ViewTrak was started two years ago by Jake Burlet, a veterinarian who had given up a conventional practice in order to expand existing interests in the cattle industry. “During my practice, I became more interested in disease prevention and increased production than in treating sick animals,” he told Food Traceability Report.

“The ViewTrak idea came from our recognition of a global trend toward value-added production and away from commodity production in the food industry,” Burlet said. “Whether you’re dealing with cattle, citrus or cereal grains, you’re at the mercy of weather, production cycles and other factors. If you’re selling commodities, you’re a ‘price taker’ instead of marketing a product with value characteristics.

“What are the value characteristics in the beef industry? We wanted to be able to certify that cattle had not been fed MBM [meat-and-bone meal] and were therefore free of mad cow disease. We wanted to know the farm where they were born, their vaccination history and feed rations, animal waste disposal and good handling practices. We wanted to create a record of genetics and production. We were selling an animal’s life history.”

The animal identification piece of the puzzle was solved when Canada approved legislation that made cattle ID mandatory beginning last July (see FTR, July, Page 13). Each beef animal now bears a unique lifetime serial number from birth to slaughter. ViewTrak began attaching information to bar coded and electronic eartags used for the serial numbers.

“We decided to use the Internet for data collection and delivery,” Burlet said. “That way, anyone, anywhere could benefit from the service. ViewTrak is designed to benefit small producers as well as large ones. The average herd size in Canada is 52 head.

“The information resides on an industrial strength server in Montreal, with a backup server in Quebec City. Like a banking system, the information is secure and won’t be lost. When we update the system, everyone benefits right away.”

Burlet views the Internet as the key to ViewTrak’s success. The beef production chain is long—lasting up to 18 months—and segmented, with frequent changes in animal ownership. “How do you move information to the next segment of the supply chain?” he asked rhetorically. “Having data stored in digital form and collected around a unique serial number allows the information to move with the animals or precede them. Our customers who don’t have access to the Internet can work with those who do.”

Global expansion plans

Burlet acknowledged that other cattle information management companies have the same conceptual vision as ViewTrak but lack the Internet feature. Clients can input and access data in the field using hand-held computers developed by the company or simply use a Web browser.

“As the animal moves along the supply chain to the processing plant, we don’t recreate information systems that already exist,” Burlet notes. “We extract information from existing systems and put it into ViewTrak. There is full traceability, full source verification and product management. Our clients learn best production practices and genetics to give them the best product.”

Burlet says beef producers can capture $80 to $120 additional value per animal by documenting superior management practices. Other stakeholders in the traceability system include financial institutions, equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms and feed producers.

Burlet notes that ViewTrak has a link to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange that enables clients to manage financial risk. “If I have 500 animals in ViewTrak, I can say, “I’d like to market 60 days from now. What do I think they’ll be worth?’ I can create a financial picture of what my inventory will be worth in the future. I no longer have to be a price-taker; ViewTrak offers the opportunity to manage business risk in a proactive manner”

ViewTrak clients pay an annual C$99 membership fee and a one-time $2.75 per fee to enter each animal into the system. The annual fee allows producers full access to reports and records throughout the production chain. Burlet says the program has membership “in the hundreds,” from primary producers to processors, and thousands of animals in the system.

ViewTrak currently does business in every part of Canada. Cattle producers in the United States, Europe, South America and Australia have also shown interest in the system, according to Burlet. The program is available in English and French. A Spanish version for Latin American customers is under development.

Burned by mad cow and foot-and-mouth disease, European and Asian countries are increasing their requirements for meat imported from Latin America and Australia, Burlet notes, adding, “In order to supply those markets, exporters will have to meet their requirements for source verification and traceability.”

Kathy Smith, a beef producer in Saskatchewan active in the Canadian Speckle Park Association, told FTR that that ViewTrak had been extremely helpful in establishing official recognition for the group’s “evolving” cattle breed. The association signed a contract with the firm last year and has since been providing data on birthweight, carcass weight and other critical factors.

“ViewTrak has been exceptionally professional,” Smith said. “They’ve been a great source of information and help. Hopefully, once we get carcass results, we’ll know what’s happening with our breed.”

—Stephen Clapp

4 For more information, go to www.ViewTrak.com

Food Traceability Report, October 2002, Volume 2, Number 10, Copyright © 2002, CRC Press LLC