Advancing Animal Disease Traceability

(ADT) Road Map for

New Jersey

A Three-Year Plan

Submitted by:

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

DIVISION OF ANIMAL HEALTH

MANOEL TAMASSIA, DVM, MS, PH.D., DIPLOMATE ACT STATE VETERINARIAN - DIRECTOR

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DIVISION OF ANIMAL HEALTH

PO BOX 330, TRENTON, NJ, 08625

(609) 671-6400

Submitted to:

DR. MICHAEL KORNREICH

AREA VETERINARIAN FOR NEW JERSEY

VETERINARY SERVICES

ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

USDA APHIS VS

MERCER CORPORATE PARK 320 CORPORATE BLVD

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ 08691

(717) 540-2777

Date: April 2022
Table of Contents

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _________________________________________________________________ 3

II. CURRENT TRACEABILITY SITUATION ______________________________________________________ 4

2.1 Who are we?_____________________________________________________________________ 4

2.2 Where are we now? _______________________________________________________________ 6

2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses _________________________________________________________ 9

2.4 Opportunities and Threats _________________________________________________________ 10

2.5 Inventory of existing infrastructure and suitability assessment ____________________________ 11

III. VISION AND MISSION CONTEXT FOR ADVANCING TRACEABILITY _____________________________ 12

3.1 Vision Statement ________________________________________________________________ 12

3.2 Mission Statement _______________________________________________________________ 12

IV. TRACEABILITY REQUIREMENTS _________________________________________________________ 12

2.1 Strategic goal(s) _________________________________________________________________ 12

4.2 Programmatic goals (objectives) ____________________________________________________ 13

4.3 ADT Trace Performance Measures (TPMs) ____________________________________________ 13

4.4 Data requirements _______________________________________________________________ 13

4.5 Information technology plan _______________________________________________________ 15

4.6 Resource requirements____________________________________________________________ 15

4.7 Organizational needs _____________________________________________________________ 16

4.7.1 Executive support _____________________________________________________________ 16

4.7.2 Coordination and oversight procedures ____________________________________________ 17

4.7.3 Policy _______________________________________________________________________ 18

4.7.4 Staffing ______________________________________________________________________ 18

4.7.5 Budget requirements___________________________________________________________ 20

4.7.6 Outreach (required to be addressed within the Road Map) ____________________________ 21

4.8 Monitoring and reporting interstate movement activity _________________________________ 23

V. ADVANCING TRACEABILITY ____________________________________________________________ 25

5.1 Ranking of priorities for advancement _______________________________________________ 25

5.2 Implementation of objectives ______________________________________________________ 26
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I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) has been the lead agency in New 

Jersey for Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) since 2004. The NJDA, as the 

primary New Jersey agency with regulatory authority over livestock, has developed 

this ADT Road Map following the guidelines and requirements of USDA to present 

a framework that will guide the national effort for a tenable National ADT Program.

Animal health officials have long recognized a need for a workable national ADT 

Program. New Jersey State animal health officials have supported the efforts of a 

nationally aligned program. Including:

• Advancing electronic sharing of data among federal and state animals 

health officials, veterinarians, and industry: including sharing the federal 

animal health events repository.

• Use of Electronic ID tags for animals requiring individual identification.

• Enhance the ability to track animals from birth to slaughter through a 

system that allows the tracking of data points to be connected.

• Elevate the use of electronic CVI from veterinarians.

The NJDA remains committed to the state and nationwide ADT Program principles. 

The state appreciates that protecting agriculture in the Garden State requires that 

animal agriculture, producers, and consumers be safeguarded against the incursion of 

detrimental disease.

The current USDA rule, which became effective March 11, 2013, has brought some 

stability to animal traceability standards nationally. The National ADT program 

instructs the states to implement the programs in such a way that national goals are 

met in exchange for cooperative agreement funds. The ability of New Jersey to 

accomplish a fully integrated and plausible program will depend on the financial 

resources available.

Since the federal rule was adopted, the state has experienced strong compliance from 

mainstream stakeholders. Current state regulations defer to National Animal ID and 

traceability rules. It is expected that stakeholders will continue to provide 

compliance and require personnel more than current availability at the state level.

The rule, at some point, requires enforcement to be taken with entities that 

continually shirk the tenents of the rule. This enforcement requires both state and 

federal actions. Resources available at the state level for enforcement are minimal. 

Due to the exceptions built into the current ADT rule, state and federal agencies are 

challenged to enforce ADT regulations. Enforcement activities are very resourceintensive, and resources are very limited.
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The ability of the information from New Jersey to be shared with other state and 

federal officials is paramount during a disease outbreak. This interoperability is 

supported by USDA data systems, and New Jersey will be able to share such data.

A viable ADT program must consider all the variables present in agriculture at 

national, state, and local levels to protect animal agriculture. It must be able to easily 

integrate past, present, and future disease control programs while being scalable and 

financially sound.

Since the initial involvement of New Jersey with ADT, the state has experienced 

continuous support for traceability in the form of federal cooperative agreements and 

allocation of state resources. However, it is essential to note that the federal funding 

available to New Jersey for the program has decreased by more than 50% from the 

highest level, even as the resources needed have increased.

In recent years New Jersey has continued to allocate substantial in-kind resources. 

These resources include personnel, equipment, and infrastructure estimated to be 

equal to or greater than the entirety of the most recent federal cooperative funding 

made available to the state. This level of resource allocation has been adequate to 

allow the state to keep a functional but easily overwhelmed system in place.

Current projections for a fully functional ADT in compliance with the program’s 

four pillars are more than $260,000 per year, including state and federal funds. Most 

of the increase is due to a longstanding need for information technology skilled ADT 

personnel to leverage both currently available technologies to decrease human 

resource outlays for the program. New Jersey would like to integrate electronic data 

sharing to allow quick and efficient data sharing. Because this traceability data 

currently resides in dozens of federal, state, and independent locations in New 

Jersey, NJ has long sought the ability to leverage these sources to trace animals 

efficiently. This is similar to the USDA’s recently described AHER system principle. 

Our belief and USDA’s belief that there will be a need to develop ways to integrate 

with AHER once it becomes available.

II. CURRENT TRACEABILITY SITUATION

2.1 Who are we?

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) has legal authority 

over livestock animals in the State of New Jersey. The head of the 

Department, the Secretary of Agriculture, sits on the New Jersey Board of 

Agriculture and is a member of the state’s executive cabinet. Through this 

mechanism, the Department has broad authority over agricultural issues in 

New Jersey, including livestock, poultry, horses, and animals raised for 

food or fiber. The New Jersey State Board of Agriculture (NJSBOA) has 

been serving as the ADT Advisory Group since 2009. Animal Disease 
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Traceability issues are brought to the board on an as-needed basis and 

during regularly scheduled monthly open public meetings. Generally, the 

board hears about matters twice yearly from the State Veterinarian. 

Because the state board of agriculture comprises agricultural stakeholders 

of all kinds, the group can serve well as an advisory group. Through this 

representation, the Department reaches and engages the farming 

community at large.

Who are the primary constituents?

The constituents are the NJSBOA, New Jersey Department of AgricultureDivision of Animal Health (DAH), the United States Department of 

Agriculture-Veterinary Services (USDA-VS), and all livestock owners in 

New Jersey. Livestock includes all animals traditionally raised for food or 

fiber and horses regardless of whether the specific animals are being 

raised as a pet.

Who are the external constituents?

The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), New Jersey 

Beef Quality Association (NJBQA), and the New Jersey State Agricultural 

Development Committee (NJSADC).

What does statewide, tribal-wide, territory-wide mean?

Statewide means all livestock, horses, and poultry within NJ. New Jersey 

does not have any tribal or territorial areas that would affect implementing 

an ADT program in the state.

How are traceability data used internally, externally?

Specific traceability information is used internally during disease 

outbreaks. This information is not released externally. Non-specific 

information gleaned from traceability data efforts may be used for 

planning and budgeting. No specific information is released per applicable 

agreements with those who house and maintain the data (i.e., the number 

of sheep imported into NJ during the fiscal year).

What values guide the animal disease traceability system?

ADT in New Jersey strives to be low-cost/low effort for producers, 

livestock owners, and other stakeholders. The program seeks to assure that 

disease outbreaks can be traced in as short a time frame as possible to 

avoid and minimize the costs of an outbreak to the agricultural industry in 

NJ and nationwide. The federal data that NJDA manages needs to be 

reliable, accurate, and accessible to accomplish this.

What is the make-up of the animal disease traceability advisory 

group? How and how often are they engaged?

The New Jersey ADT Group is a function of the New Jersey Board of 

Agriculture. This group comprises eight appointed, term members from 
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the New Jersey agricultural community. NJSBOA is engaged as needed, 

usually two to three times a year, as the ADT Advisory Group.

2.2 Where are we now?

Since the 2012 Co-op period and even before, NJDA has been able to 

manage the entry of ADT-relevant data into searchable databases. NJDA 

has been challenged to keep up with that data entry (within a month of 

receipt) and has been unable to keep up with equine data entry. Starting in 

2021, NJDA hired a dedicated data entry person and purchased CVI 

central, which streamlined the data entry process. These two things have 

allowed NJDA to catch up with backlogged data entry. The chart below 

represents the known animals that could be entered through paper forms—

not what has been entered. Due to these changes, NJ is meeting the goals 

described by the Federal ADT program for all livestock species. NJDA is 

exploring the increased use of eCVI to streamline data entry. As private, 

federal, and state eCVI systems matured, NJ can now transmit data to 

surveillance databases and into AHER.

How is animal disease traceability currently defined? Is it viewed as a 

cross- cutting component to animal health information systems? Is it 

viewed as a stand-alone initiative?

ADT is a function that is handled through the current regulatory structure 

in the state. It is identified as a critical part of the modern function of the 

DAH. Therefore, to the extent possible, every effort is to make sure it is 

reflected in not only the DAH but NJDA, to the extent required by the 

Federal rule.

What measures of traceability capability are currently being used? 

What are the specific values and associated interpretation? 

Currently, the traceability capability is measured by the percentage of 

official forms that are entered by species into a searchable database. Data 

entry of paper forms is prioritized by form and species in this priority 

order (4-54 > 4-33 > 4- 26 > 6-22 > import CVI> export CVI), (Bovine > 

Porcine > Caprine > Ovine > Camelid > Avian > Equine). All 4-54, 4-33, 

4-26, 6-22 and import CVIs for Bovine, Porcine, Caprine, Ovine, and 

Camelids are captured electronically.

In addition, the Department continues to perform trace-forward and -back 

activities independently and as part of USDA Trace Performance Measure 

Exercises. Small-scale traces typically take less than one day to 

accomplish; however, more extensive trace activities would quickly 

overwhelm the system. Finally, trace exercises are performed quarterly to 

meet USDA cooperative agreement requirements. NJDA has, to date, met 

or exceeded the requirements of the program when tracing cattle.
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Required Metric* Current 

Estimate

Improvement 

Goal***

Measured for 

2021

Exercises

a) Time for NJDA to report another state that an animal in 

question found in NJ was tagged in that state. (time to report 

to the State/Tribe of official tagging/identifying of an animal in 

question that has moved interstate)

2 days 1 day <1 day

b) Time for NJDA to confirm that an animal in question was 

tagged in NJ and confirm the person who received the tag #. 

(time for the State/Tribe of first officially tagging/identifying an 

animal in question that has moved interstate to provide a 

record of the official tag distribution)

5 days 3 days <1 day

c) Time for NJDA to trace an animal in question found in NJ 

but originally tagged in another state to the last state it was 

from. (time to report to the State/Tribe from which an animal 

in question has moved interstate)

5 days 3 days <1 day

d) Time for NJDA to provide the contact location and 

information of a premise from which an animal was moved 

interstate. (time for the State/Tribe from which an animal in 

question has moved interstate to provide the location and 

contact information from which the animal was moved 

interstate)

5 days 3 days <1 day

How is coordination being currently achieved within the unit?

Field, laboratory, and administrative staff are aware of the ADT Program 

at the national and state levels. Information about ADT is shared at 

monthly meetings of staff and outside government partners. Since 

traceability is part and parcel of the entire state’s disease control program, 

all personnel have an opportunity to have an active role in ADT. 

How is coordination being currently achieved statewide, tribal-wide, 

territory-wide?

NJDA personnel take every opportunity to speak with state stakeholders 

regarding animal ID and ID requirements. This may occur by engaging 

large groups or individuals during other program activities. 

How does the present unit coordinate activities with other existing 

agencies/units?

The DAH holds monthly face-to-face meetings with all Animal Healthrelated agencies present in the state. Information is disseminated at these 

meetings to help the agencies better understand the importance of 

traceability, a good, close relationship with the VS office, and their roles 

in traceability.
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What standards for traceability are currently being used? Are they 

appropriate? 

The DAH can perform individual trace-backs within 15 minutes. 

Confirmation of trace-backs with individual producers or stakeholders is 

more time consuming and will usually delay the final disposition of tracebacks by one to two days.

What is the state of technology infrastructure? Capability in terms of 

size? Compatibility within and outside the 

agency/unit/department/etc. for sharing data when needed?

Due to funding and confidentiality rulings regarding this information and 

the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA), New Jersey cannot house 

any electronic data of individual farms without making that data public. 

Therefore, NJDA is currently completely reliant on Federal infrastructure 

regarding the storage of data for ADT and has no control of how 

compatible that system is but assumes that USDA will maintain a system 

compatible with AHER and any other shared database. Additionally, for 

the data to be useful for the state, unfettered access to database resources 

housed and maintained by USDA is required. The DAH is exploring and 

continues to explore solutions that would fully allow access to the data to 

perform trace-backs and use data by creating queries and reports to 

leverage the vast amount of information available to the advancement of 

the State/Federal Co-operative program. The NJDA is in the process of 

procuring software to query data.

Are requests for information available 24/7, or only available M-F, 40 

hours per week, if authorized personnel are present?

Data resources are as available as USDA makes them. This has proven to 

be a challenge at times, although USDA systems are remotely accessible, 

there can be extended unplanned or planned downtimes. Additionally, 

because of sometimes strict password and access protocols and subsequent 

slow access reinstatements, these resources can be unavailable for 

extended periods. Finally, there is limited expertise at the state and federal 

local offices to access this information. Although the information is 

available 24/7, routine access to this information is available during 

business hours only.

What is the impact of state, tribe, or territory funding on capability? 

How does Federal funding fit into the plan?

There is extremely limited state funding available for this program or any 

other program. Federal funding is required for the state to meet even 

minimum goals for this program. Funding is currently heavily leveraged 

for every program the state needs to run. Without adequate federal 

funding, this program will only have limited success. Currently, the state 

share of the financial resources devoted to traceability continues to be 

approximately 50% of the overall project and is expected to continue. 
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NJDA would very much like to increase the amount of funding for the 

program and receive additional cooperative funds to elevate the program 

as an archetypical program in a small North-eastern State.

2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses

What are the strengths of the organization in terms of technology, 

human resources, personnel capabilities, etc.?

NJDA is a small, vertically integrated organization. The NJDA-DAH 

consists of an administrative, regulatory field, and laboratory units that can 

all be leveraged to make ADT a success. The DAH is strongly aware of 

the challenges logistically and financially for ADT, as well as the very real 

and everyday challenges of the state’s agricultural stakeholders. The 

NJDA’s ability to leverage current regulations as they are written to 

improve the amount of data available for trace-back activities provides a 

solid foundation for future ADT activities. The state ADT coordinator has 

remained unchanged since the initial cooperative agreements with USDA 

and is well versed in the challenges of the program in New Jersey and at 

the National Level.

What are the weaknesses in terms of “lack of” technology, human 

resources, personnel capabilities, etc.?

There has been a longstanding weakness in the state of New Jersey’s ADT

activities in the form of human resources. The DAH continues to need a 

general-purpose Database Administrator or Programmer to leverage 

currently accessible data sources for the benefit of the ADT as well as 

perform imperative data quality functions and planning. Additionally, the 

current program suffers from a lack of dedicated data entry staff, which 

continues to plague the program, as other administrative staff members 

with limited expertise are being multi- tasked and retrained to perform 

these tasks. This further plagues the program by low-quality data, which 

can limit the application of the data to disease outbreaks.

Enforcement remains a major area where the Department’s current 

staffing precludes effective performance. Enforcement is expensive, time 

and personnel intensive. Although the state’s current regulations should 

adequately address the needs of ADT, the lack of enforcement resources 

dictates that only the most negligent and severe infractions can be 

enforced.

Finally, the state’s ADT data relies heavily on federal IT infrastructure. 

The main system that NJ uses is SCS. NJDA has not been able to gain 

access to individual animal level data that NJDA almost exclusively enters 

into the system for reporting purposes.
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2.4 Opportunities and Threats

The basis for this component is the assumption that improving ADT

capability will create opportunities for those involved that would not be 

available should traceability not be optimized. At the administrative level, 

implementation of standards for improving efficiencies of information 

collection, storage, sharing, and security would be an opportunity. Every 

State/Tribe/Territory is subject to catastrophic events, such as tornados, 

wildfires, drought, winter storms, animal/zoonotic disease, flooding, 

possibly hurricanes.

Does this plan create an opportunity in ability to respond?

Yes.

Does this plan enable or avoid consequences of potential threats?

Yes, by instituting this plan, the State of New Jersey will be better able to 

minimize or avert the impact of disease outbreaks.

Does this plan provide for better use of available resources than current 

approaches?

Yes, by using a programmer analyst and data entry personnel to leverage 

the technology and information that is already available in paper form and 

electronic form, current personnel would be freed up to perform trace-backs 

and enforcement actions in relation to traceability.

Does this plan enhance networking opportunities?

Since the implementation of ADT at the national level, NJDA has had 

excellent contact with animal agriculture of all sectors leading to increased 

opportunities for NJDA and RCE to network with producers.

If this plan is not implemented, what are the threats?

Without the implementation of ADT, successful tracing will take more time. 

It is possible that it will be impossible to control some disease outbreaks.

If this plan is not implemented, will others be tasked with doing so?

If it is unfeasible for NJDA-DAH to implement a sound ADT Plan in the 

state, there is no chance that another entity would have the ability to 

implement it. The ability of NJDA to leverage current resources to 

implement this effort substantially decreases the cost of program 
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implementation. Additionally, there are no other agencies that have the 

authority in New Jersey to implement the federal ADT plan statewide.

Have previous efforts to coordinate with other entities within the 

applicant’s boundaries, and outside the applicant’s boundaries, been 

complicated or unavailable for not having this plan in place?

Yes. It has not been possible to engage other entities in a meaningful way 

because of the constantly changing and redirection of the federal rule. With 

the adopted rule, the NJDA will engage entities in the state more effectively.

2.5 Inventory of existing infrastructure and suitability assessment

Human Resources

The current NJDA Traceability Co-op calls for 99% of a currently hired 

Administrative Assistant to undertake data-entry and ADT Coordinator 

responsibilities, respectively. Actual time sheet values for the last 12 

months for ADT related activities through the entire NJDA-DAH staff are 

25% of a full-time Principal Veterinarian, 100% of a full-time Data Entry 

Clerk, and approximately 60% of a full-time employee (FTE) for data 

entry and administrative tasks spread across 4 currently hired FTE.

Space availability

The DAH has adequate space for all currently housed personnel and 

equipment, as well as any growth foreseen in this plan.

Connectivity resources, both in office and in the field

Currently, all employees have access to adequate computer resources and 

internet resources in the office. Field staff has access to laptops and 

internet- enabled smartphones.

Access to USDA animal disease traceability and animal health 

information resources

The DAH has front-end access to all USDA databases associated with the 

state’s traceability efforts. However, because the NJDA’s traceability data 

is entered directly into USDA databases for confidentiality reasons, we are 

100% dependent on that connectivity for the state’s traceability program. 

Most of our historical traceability data was in the USDA GDB. Currently, 

all data entry occurs in the SCS. As it was projected in the original 

traceability road map, the NJDA has no or limited access to extract data 

from SCS in a meaningful way. More recently, NJDA has lost access to 

GDB data. The DAH did not receive the resources requested in the 

originally approved roadmap to write internal SOPs aligned with the SCS 

system or perform the necessary quality and productivity audits on the 

moved data. Data moved from GDB into SCS poorly mapped in some 

instances leading to a lot of errant data in the SCS. Back-end data access 
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and reporting are a tenet of the SCS’s parent system Core One & would 

allow excellent utility for ADT if it were available in SCS.

Organization of all existing paper record systems used to access 

animal disease traceability or animal health information

Paper records that could be used for trace-back activities are retained for 

3-10 years.

Computerized data management capability, including present storage 

size, speed, security, etc.

Currently 100% reliant on USDA for these. In the 2022 co-op period, 

NJDA expects to move to a private cloud-based, secure system.

Automated data capture capability

Use of a private data parser for all electronic movement information.

III. VISION AND MISSION CONTEXT FOR ADVANCING TRACEABILITY

3.1 Vision Statement

The overarching vision of ADT in NJ is to provide a tool for the livestock 

industry to respond to emergencies, assure that livestock are healthy, and 

support livestock agriculture in the state even during emergencies.

3.2 Mission Statement

Advancing ADT in NJ will support all aspects of the NJDA-DAH’s 

mission. That mission requires the protection of the livestock in the state 

and the public.

Primary mission areas are:

• Disease control and prevention

• Emergency Support Functions (ESF)

• Regulatory and enforcement

• Support and service

IV. TRACEABILITY REQUIREMENTS

The following categories must be described in the Road Map:

2.1 Strategic goal(s)

• Implementation of a statewide ADT infrastructure to advance 

traceability nationally.
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• Use the current regulatory structure in concert with the federal ADT 

rule to assure that traceability continues in the state.

• Increase the capability of the state to make traceability documentation 

electronically available.

4.2 Programmatic goals (objectives)

• Target, develop, and implement outreach messaging regarding data 

quality and processing for animal health information forms

• Monitor ICVI data quality

• Input data into appropriate systems

• Establish compatible standards for sharing data with 

States/Tribes/Territories and USDA when needed

• Integrate surveillance and traceability data

• Develop plans to allow adequate enforcement of current regulations in 

support of federal ADT

• Distribute more tags with emphasis on eID

• Improve stakeholder acceptance for RFID and electronic data collection

• Enhance and improve ADT related human resources

• Identify and fund human resources to support ADT (Programmer 

Analyst and Data Entry)

• Maintain or modify ADT Traceability Advisory Group as needed

• Obtain back-end data access to data

• Quickly respond to all trace requests

4.3 ADT Trace Performance Measures (TPMs)

Since 2010 the NJDA has been performing traces as exercises and real 

disease traces. The traces are recorded on actual hours are taken from the 

time that numbers are given to the time that paper documentation is found 

indicating the source or destination.

For the 2021 co-op, the state performed 9 trace exercises required metrics. 

These exercises were entered in the USDA’s EMERSas requested. They 

were cattle chosen at random from forms submitted to the state.

4.4 Data requirements

NJDA uses the location information as described in the national standards.

Fully describe standards to be used for official animal identification, 

including arrangements with other States, Tribes, Territories, as well 
14

as official identification methods/devices used within the cooperator’s 

jurisdiction.

The current code defines official animal identification as those “approved 

by the State Veterinarian.” In practice, NJDA defers to the CFR for 

acceptable identification methods.

Will the State/Tribe/Territory be using official metal ear tags beyond 

the current system involving accredited veterinarians only applying 

the tags at the time of performing regulatory animal disease work? 

What formats? What volume is expected for use? How will they be 

distributed? What is the plan for distributing taggers? VS Memo 

578.12 is to be used for reference guidelines. (Required to be 

addressed within the Road Map)

Historically, the NJDA has had excellent usage of National Uniform Ear 

Tagging System tags; these ear tags have been used almost exclusively for 

official identification in NJ. Since 2019, NJDA has ceased the distribution 

of NUES tags. In 2019 NJDA received 840 style tags and electronic 

readers. These are being distributed to veterinarians upon request. As tags 

are being distributed, the distribution is recorded in AIMS. These tags are 

distributed directly to program employees and accredited veterinarians for 

use in tagging New Jersey livestock. Starting in 2019, NJDA began 

distributing tags to a tagging site under a “Tagging Site Agreement.” VS 

Memo 578.12 serves as a guidance document for the distribution and use 

of tags in NJ. The expected volume of tags for the current year should not 

exceed 1,000.

What tag distribution record keeping systems will be used? (Required

to be addressed within the Road Map)

Record keeping is recognized as a core premise of a viable animal ID 

system. The fields required for the use of NUES or electronic ID tags 

would be the minimum required for the use of these tags. It is the 

responsibility of the person’s applying the tags to confirm that the 

information is submitted to the NJDA. NJDA will then electronically enter 

the distribution in an applicable database if not already entered through 

another system.

What data requirements exist for commuter herd agreements?

NJDA is not aware of any commuter herds that operate in the state. These 

will be handled on a case-by-case basis if they occur.

What forms are approved for interstate movement in addition to 

ICVIs?

ICVI are the only forms accepted for interstate movement of non-slaughter 

livestock animals in NJ.
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How and when will data be shared with other States, Tribes, 

Territories, and USDA? (Required to be addressed within the Road 

Map)

Electronic data is always available to USDA. Data is entered and housed 

in USDA databases exclusively. Paper records are available for specific 

requests for disease tracing needs and under special agreement for other 

purposes. All data will be available to other states on a case-by-case basis.

How will group/lot official numbers be handled within the system?

Group/lot identification will be handled per federal guidelines and 

regulations.

4.5 Information technology plan

NJDA hopes to bring together all the data sources available for ADT. 

Currently, the Department uses many individual federal databases, SCS, 

VSPS, SPRS, AHSM, AIMS, EMRS, AHER, etc., for traceability in the 

state. Additionally, the state has state databases pertaining to dealers, 

humane cases, disease cases, and the NJDA’s Animal Health Diagnostic 

Laboratory (AHDL) data. Also, many practitioners in NJ are using GVL’s 

data systems.

The need for specialized ADT-centric IT expertise at the co-operator level 

is underscored by the limited resources available at the federal level and 

the lack of state-level resources that have the ADT business knowledge to 

be successful.

To further ADT in NJ, and most likely many other states, each state will 

have to develop IT resources that are highly specialized to their specific 

needs and ADT in general.

4.6 Resource requirements

Is specific expertise needed that is not currently available?

Yes, the DAH has access to statewide IT resources, but the lack of a 

specialized DAH IT staff means that the predominant activities with 

general state IT resources are familiarizing them with changing business 

requirements of a very fluid state and national program. Larger state users 

currently consume statewide IT resources. Since ADT is highly ITdependent, NJDA continues to need a local Systems Analyst/Programmer 

Analyst position to keep up with demands and leverage all state and 

federal resources to minimize additional human resources dedicated to 

ADT. This position will allow the DAH to meet ADT's flexible and 

evolving demands. There is also a need to fund the dedicated data entry 

position.
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Will consultants be needed?

There are no plans for the use of consultants. However, the Programmer 

Analyst/Systems Analyst could be sourced as a consultant. NJDA does not

think that this would be beneficial to the ADT program because the depth 

of specialized knowledge required to integrate with ADT, federal, and 

state resources would use a great deal of the consultant’s time.

Is a continuity of operation plan (COOP) in place and how frequently 

is it tested?

Yes, NJDA participates in the state’s COOP. Testing occurs at least 

annually.

Are automated data capture resources needed?

Automated capture would greatly benefit reducing the need for human 

resources. However, the DAH would consider this as an additional 

resource that would not negate the need for human resources as paper 

forms will continue to be a predominant format.

Will additional or new space be required?

There is no expectation that additional space will be needed to facilitate 

the ADT program necessities.

4.7 Organizational needs

Does a need for organizational change exist? Is it recognized? 

No, none is needed.

Can additional resources be leveraged within the current 

administrative structure?

Yes, by using a Systems Analyst/Programmer Analyst to leverage already 

entered data, the expectation would be that some if not all the multiple 

data entry scenarios currently required could be rectified.

4.7.1 Executive support

Is additional support from executive management needed?

The NJDA is, in theory, supportive of a national and state ADT 

program. The task is delegated to the DAH, where all the 

administrative and programmatic knowledge resides.

How is accountability provided?

The Animal Health Division Director routinely updates the 

Secretary of Agriculture and the other agency Division Directors 

through monthly meetings and monthly reports.
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How are officials briefed on progress and baseline measures of 

performance? 

Yearly cooperative agreements and their subsequent quarterly 

reports are shared with the Secretary of Agriculture.

4.7.2 Coordination and oversight procedures

What is the make-up of the applicant’s animal disease 

traceability advisory group? How frequently are they 

engaged?

In 2008/2009, the State Veterinarian engaged and continues to 

engage the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture to act as NJ’s 

ADT Steering Committee. This group consists of term members 

selected from the agricultural community at large, elected by the 

State Agricultural Delegates, confirmed by the Secretary of 

Agriculture, and appointed by the Governor with the consent of the 

State Senate. They are engaged for traceability as needed and 

updated regularly by the Division Director for Animal Health. This 

group holds regular monthly meetings which are open to the public 

and can meet more often as needed. The DAH monthly report is 

used to update the board members on ADT-related issues.

How are emergency preparedness resources engaged or 

responded to when necessary?

Because the NJDA is the lead state agency for animal disaster 

response, and the DAH is the lead division, the engagement of 

emergency preparedness resources is seamless.

How is compatibility with other States, Tribes, Territories, and 

USDA monitored?

NJDA uses federal databases almost exclusively. Therefore, our 

compatibility with other stakeholders is dependent on the systems 

stood up by USDA. If NJDA were to migrate away from federal 

databases compatibility with other states, tribes, territories, and 

USDA would be of paramount consideration.

How are responsibilities assigned for implementing the plan?

The DAH is almost exclusively responsible for implementing the 

plan.

How are disputes arbitrated?

Disputes over ADT are handled within the governance structure of 

the State Board of Agriculture.
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How is feedback obtained relative to perception of successful 

implementation above and below the administrative authority?

Information is shared upwards from the Division Head to the 

Department, to the State Board.

How is transition achieved when administrators are replaced? 

Per New Jersey Statutes Annotated, Title. 4 (N.J.S.A. 4).

4.7.3 Policy

How do existing mandates assist, limit, or modify what is 

intended to be achieved?

The division has integrated flexible language into many state 

regulations (New Jersey Administrative Code N.J.A.C.) designed 

to build upon and utilize federal animal identification 

requirements. It is expected that the current rules will allow 

adequate ADT program involvement by persons in the state.

N.J.A.C. 2:2 Disease Control Program

N.J.A.C. 2:3 Livestock and Poultry Importation

N.J.A.C. 2:5 Quarantines and Embargoes

N.J.A.C. 2:8 Humane Treatment of Domestic Livestock

N.J.A.C. 2:9 Avian Influenza

Is there a need to address any specific mandates and act to 

modify them to align them with current goals and objectives?

At this time, it is expected that the regulations as currently written 

will suffice to meet foreseeable mandates. However, 

improvements in language will be undertaken as needed during the 

rule re-adoption process.

4.7.4 Staffing

How is full-time, paid support staff justified?

In the most current ADT Cooperative agreement, there are no fulltime employees working on ADT. The Cooperative agreement 

calls for 100% of an FTE Administrative Assistant (Data-Entry) 

and a small amount of administrative guidance from a veterinarian. 

These FTE include required fringe costs that have hovered around 

50% per year. As additional state funding became available in 

2021, NJDA was able to add a TES data entry staff member. In 

the next few years, it is planned that this TES position will become 

permanent. All other FTE are services-in-kind. Actual timesheet 

values for the last 12 months for ADT-related activities through the 

entire NJDA-DAH staff included but were not limited to 25% of a 

Principal Veterinarian acting as the State Traceability Co-
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Ordinator and a further ~30% of FTE spread between 6 currently 

hired FTE. This staffing level allowed 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 full implementation 

of the Federal ADT Plan in the state. With the wider use of eCVI 

as called for in the 2019 federal guidance, it is estimated that up to 

100% of the data could be entered with the current staffing levels.

What personnel are needed to implement the plan?

Two specialized human resources have been identified that would 

allow ADT efforts to progress in the state past minimum levels. A 

programmer analyst or systems analyst and a dedicated data entry 

person.

Can other human resources be leveraged to assist in 

implementing the plan? 

Current staff resources are leveraged to the maximum. Current 

non-specialized FTE is entering approximately 25% of all data 

required for complete ADT in the state. Using an additional 

specialized data entry FTE and an analyst to leverage current and 

future available technology, it is expected the Department will be 

able to handle all data requirements for the New Jersey ADT.

With the staffing scenario in this plan, NJDA would have 3.25 

FTE dedicated to ADT and would be capable of capturing 100% of 

the data. In other words, NJDA would go from capturing 25% to 

making 100% of all ADT data electronically traceable.

The analyst position would allow NJDA to respond to data 

requests more quickly with greater confidence in results. The 

analyst position would also be able to set up tools to streamline 

QA/QC tasks for existing personnel and further leverage human 

resources to provide better, more consistent data quality.

Are professional credentials and certification an issue?

Credentials and certifications will be an issue for both the 

specialized data entry position and the Programmer 

Analyst/Systems Analyst.

Are job descriptions for the roles needed provided?

Job descriptions will and are described for all positions. For the 

currently engaged staff, the ADT efforts are a percentage of their 

overall job title/description. However, for the analyst position, a 

very specific job description will have been developed.

Is animal disease traceability information a distinct function 

within the unit or an add-on “coordinated by committee” 

versus an individually coordinated, stand-alone sub-unit?

ADT is a distinct function that is woven into all division activities.
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4.7.5 Budget requirements

Projected budget requirements:

Year One Year Two Year Three

Personnel $130,975 $145,975 $145,975

Fringe Benefits $22,687 $22,687 $22,687

Equipment $5,000 $5,000 $5,000

Office Supplies $5,000 $5,000 $5,000

Vehicles $3,500 $3,500 $3,500

eID $8,500 $8,500 $8,500

Software/Licenses $82,500 $82,500 $82,500

Total $258,162 $273,162 $273,162

How are you funded for animal disease traceability? State, 

Tribe, Territory versus Federal?

Specific funding for ADT is through State/Federal Co-operative 

agreements. Additional funding comes from general state funds 

and other cross-agency funding sources.

In the current co-op period to date, approximately 50% of funding 

for ADT has come from the Federal ADT Cooperative agreement, 

while the remaining 50% has been from other leveraged sources.

What are the funding requirements projected by year one, two, 

and three for implementing this plan?

New Jersey has spent significantly more than its cooperative 

allocation on ADT-related activities in the current year. The level 

of funding provided is barely sufficient to meet the program's 

minimum requirements. A fully operational program is expected to 

cost about $250,000.00. The current and projected federal funding 

for the NJ ADT program leaves a gap of more than

$200,000.00 that needs to be covered to fund an entry-level analyst 

in year one and continued funding for year two and year three. 

This includes staffing and a subscription to a cloud-based ADT 

Information System, provided that the state can maintain current 

in-kind funding levels for this program.

How is cost sharing achieved?

While in kind is not included in the budgets for this program, the 

NJDA has routinely spent state funds on keeping this program 

functional. New Jersey had been required to illustrate a costsharing of no more than 20% in every State/Federal Co-op until 

2014. Actual cost-sharing has been greater than 20% during every 

co-op period since 2011. For 2018, actual state outlays for the 
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program were greater than 50% of the total expense of the 

program, just in salary. This was the minimum needed to meet the 

requirements of the Federal Co-operative agreements.

Can other funding sources be leveraged to support this plan?

Every opportunity to leverage funding from state sources has been 

accomplished and leveraged to meet the minimum needs of 

traceability. These needs have increased as the federal rule took 

effect, and new and increased funding will be needed to meet the 

demands of the ADT.

4.7.6 Outreach (required to be addressed within the Road Map)

Successful implementation of any plan to advance ADT cannot be 

achieved without outreach to constituents primarily affected by 

the plan.

4.7.6.1 Accredited veterinarians

What is the plan for informing accredited 

veterinarians of the new framework and the 

specific three-year plan for implementation?

Veterinarians will be informed of general ADT 

frameworks using the division’s broadcast fax and 

emails. Movement and testing documents will be 

monitored for appropriate ADT usage, and 

veterinarians will be contacted and educated on an 

as-needed basis. Additionally, the information will 

be shared at the DAH meetings, such as the New 

Jersey Veterinary Medical Association and Atlantic 

Coast Veterinary Conference annual meetings.

What continuing education is being planned for 

improving data quality relative to animal health 

information systems being used? Submitting 

official forms in a timely manner?

Accreditation of veterinarians is the first step to the 

continuing education of veterinarians. Additionally, 

the monitoring and feedback of official forms are 

also used for educating/re-educating veterinarians. 

This individualized approach is possible due to the 

limited number of veterinarians working on 

livestock in NJ.

What is the plan for enhancing the use of 

eICVIs, if any?
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NJDA has already implemented the use of GVL, 

VSPS, and SPRS systems. The roadmap, as 

planned, provides the resources to make further 

investments in other eCVI systems. If the USDA or 

other entity is able to standardize eCVI through all 

vendors, NJDA is hopeful that the state will allow 

the use of any vendor that meets the standards.

What role, if any, does the accredited 

veterinarian have in providing low-cost, official 

identification tags/devices to producers?

Veterinarians are currently the main source for 

producers to receive tags in the state. This is 

considered part of their responsibilities as an 

accredited type II veterinarian.

4.7.6.2 Slaughter plants

What continuing education efforts are being 

planned for addressing the concerns of the 

livestock markets in the jurisdiction?

Information is shared during the annual relicensing 

and through regularly scheduled inspections. The 

standards are revisited during every opportunity or 

visit to the premises.

What is the plan for accessing or requesting 

traceability information from livestock markets?

As part of market agreements, livestock dealers in 

New Jersey must keep records that comply with 

ADT. Additionally, they must make those records 

available to NJDA upon request.

4.7.6.3 Industry as a whole

How is industry being informed of the 

implementation plan?

New Jersey industry is being informed through 

veterinarians, markets, dealers, Farm Bureau, State 

and County Boards of Agriculture, SADC, NJDA, 

annual New Jersey Agricultural Convention, and 

NJAES.
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How is the advisory committee being leveraged 

for this continuing education purpose?

The Steering Committee is engaged with all the 

facets mentioned above.

What other resources are available for industry 

outreach?

The groups involved in the implementation plan 

have direct access to livestock owners. Also, animal 

ID is a topic addressed by the state’s Animal 

Emergency Working Group.

What constitutes industry? What species are 

involved?

The industry in NJ is any livestock or poultry as 

defined in N.J.S.A. Title 4. This includes any 

animals traditionally raised for food or fiber, horses,

and poultry, regardless of their use.

How are under-represented and under-served 

communities being included in the outreach 

plan?

New Jersey Animal Agriculture Stakeholders, 

overall, are underserved. By using every avenue and 

opportunity to disseminate information about ADT, 

these groups will have an opportunity to be 

educated about ADT.

4.8 Monitoring and reporting interstate movement activity

How will the number of animals and the number of shipments be 

monitored that move interstate?

The number of animals is currently tabulated using ICVI and other paper 

forms available to the state. These are added to the SCS with the 

expectation that the state will be able to tabulate a total number. The 

Department has no resources to enforce or estimate the number of illegal 

shipments occurring. Additionally, because statewide slaughter 

surveillance has ceased to exist in NJ because of changes to the federal

programs, it will not be possible for NJDA to tabulate the number of 

slaughter animals moving into or out of the state without an unreasonably 

large expenditure of resources.

How will the data be verified or validated?
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Every paper CVI is validated for compliance with ADT by administrative 

staff and by the ADT coordinator. All outgoing eCVI are inspected, and 

deficiencies are brought to the attention of the submitting veterinarian and 

USDA with a corrective letter.

The following data must be reported for quarterly reports beginning with 

calendar year 2012:

• Number of ICVIs and other interstate movement 

documents created within the State/Tribe/Territory on 

a year-to-date basis for move-out animals. 

This data is available for non-slaughter legally moved 

animals and should be able to be reported. However, there 

is currently no ability to reliably extract this data from the 

federal database where this information resides.

• Number of ICVIs and other interstate movement 

documents received for move-in animals. 

This data is also available for non-slaughter legally moved 

animals. However, it is available only in paper forms. 

Additional human resources will be necessary to allow for 

electronic reporting of this data.

• Number of animals by species and class for move-in 

events associated with ICVIs and other interstate 

movement documents, indicating the number of animals 

officially identified and the number not officially 

identified.

This data is available for non-slaughter legally moved 

animals. Additional human resources will be necessary to 

allow for electronic reporting of this data.

Since 2010 the DAH has prioritized the data entry activities 

due to the limited financial and personnel resources 

available for this project. Data entry are prioritized by form 

(4-54 > 4-33 > 4-26 > 6-22 > import CVI

> export CVI) and species (Bovine > Porcine > Caprine > 

Ovine > Camelid > Avian > Equine). NJDA has collected 

all 4-54, 4-33, 4-26, 6-22 and imported CVIs for Bovine, 

Porcine, Caprine, Ovine, and Camelids during recent coops. Therefore, NJDA would be able to supply reports on 

the information that we are currently recording, dependent 

on database access limitations. There will be no feasible 

ability to report on any equine events without additional 

personnel resources.

• Number of animals by species and class for move-out 

events associated with ICVIs and other interstate 

movement documents, indicating the
25

number of animals officially identified, and the number 

not officially identified.

This data is available for non-slaughter legally moved 

animals. To allow for fully electronic reporting of this data, 

additional human resources will be necessary.

Since 2010 the DAH has prioritized the data entry activities 

due to the limited financial and personnel resources 

available for this project. Data entries are prioritized by 

form (4-54 > 4-33 > 4-26 > 6-22 > import CVI

> export CVI) and species (Bovine > Porcine > Caprine > 

Ovine > Camelid > Avian > Equine). NJDA has collected 

all 4-54, 4-33, 4-26, 6-22 and imported CVIs for Bovine, 

Porcine, Caprine, Ovine, and Camelids during recent coops. Therefore, NJDA would be able to supply reports on 

the information that we are currently recording. The 

Department will require additional resources to make this 

type of reporting feasible for any/all species.

• Volume of distribution for each official numbering 

system/device issued by the State/Tribe/Territory 

and/or AVIC office, including backtags by market or 

processing (slaughter) facility.

This information is currently recorded. Back-tags are 

distributed directly by the area VS office and if they can 

provide the information, all of this information should be 

readily available.

V. ADVANCING TRACEABILITY 

5.1 Ranking of priorities for advancement

What specific steps are needed to advance from where the initiative 

currently resides?

There are several steps needed to maintain and advance Traceability in NJ 

in order of priority are:

1. Maintain current infrastructure for ADT

2. Build on the ability to enter the data into searchable databases

3. Improve data QA/QC

4. Outreach

5. Improve the ability to query ADT data

6. Regulatory Structure/Enforcement.

Is a phased-in approach appropriate over the three-year period? 

Yes.
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Are various components dependent upon measurable successes rather 

than defined time periods?

Most components will require a certain degree of success in the previous 

component to be effective. Where federal co-ops require measurable 

success, that success will be used as a benchmark. Additionally, the 

division will expect certain levels of success in terms of the percentage of 

records accepted and the quality of the data being entered.

5.2 Implementation of objectives

• Maintain current infrastructure for ADT (year 1 to year 3)

• Build on the ability to enter the data into searchable databases

o Add additional human resources (year 2 to year 3)

 System Analyst/Programmer Analyst (year 2)

 Data Entry (Beginning of year 1)

o Leverage other available data sources to use in ADT (year 

2 to year 3)

• Electronic Sharing of Data (year 1 to year 3)

o Utilize AHER and other USDA tools as appropriate to 

facilitate electronic sharing of data (year 1 to year 3)

o Continue to encourage the use of eCVI (year 1 to year 3)

o Continue to make any paper and non-eCVI searchable by 

keying in those CVI (year 1 to year 3)

• Increase use of electronic ID (year 1 to year 3)

o Inform Veterinarians and other Stakeholders of USDA’s 

timeline to phase out free NUES tags in favor of eID (year 

1 to year 3)

o Work to facilitate the familiarity and use of eID by getting 

readers into the hands of veterinarians and stakeholders 

(year 1 to year 3)

o Build a repository of eID at the state office for 

disbursement to veterinarians in lieu of NUES (year 1 to 

year 3)

• Improve data QA/QC

o Add additional human resources (year 2 to year 3)

 System Analyst/Programmer Analyst (year 2)

 Data Entry (Beginning of year 1)

o Develop data entry QA/QC standards (year 2)

o Develop mechanisms to monitor and correct QA/QC errors 

(year 2)

• Outreach

o Perform one on one outreach (year 1 to year 3)

o Engage the State Tractability Steering Committee (year 1 to 

year 3)
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o Work with practitioners to encourage appropriate use and 

reporting of ADT relevant data (year 1 to year 3)

o Work with sister agencies to message constituents (year 1 

to year 3)

• Improve the ability to query ADT data

o Add additional human resources (year 1 to year 3)

 System Analyst/Programmer Analyst (year 2)

o Purchase and install database with back-end access and 

searchability (year 1)

o Develop mechanisms that will speed access to valuable 

traceability data for lay staff (year 2 to year 3)

• Regulatory Structure Enforcement.

o Realignment of current traceability FTEs to allow for 

effective regulatory oversight and enforcement (year 2)

o Regulate/enforce current identification and traceability 

pertinent regulations (year 2 and beyond)

o Adjust current regulatory structure as needed to encompass 

future traceability needs (year 1 and beyond)