ADVANCING ADT

ROAD MAP	FOR

SOUTH CAROLINA

A	Three-Year Plan

Submitted by:

MICHAEL J NEAULT

OFFICE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE VETERINARIAN 

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY LIVESTOCK POULTRY HEALTH 

PO BOX 102406, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA 29224-2406 

(O): (803) 788-2260 

URL: www.clemson.edu/LPH 

[SIGNATURE] _______________________________________________________________ 

Submitted to:

TOWANA S. GUINYARD

AREA	VETERINARIAN FOR SOUTH CAROLINA

VETERINARY	SERVICES

ANIMAL AND	PLANT	HEALTH INSPECTION	SERVICE

UNITED	STATES DEPARTMENT OF	AGRICULTURE

9600 TWO NOTCH RD, STE 10 

COLUMBIA, SC 29223 

803.462.2910 

April 1,	2022
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 3 

II. CURRENT TRACEABILITY SITUATION ............................................................................ 3 

2.1 Who are we?........................................................................................................................ 5 

2.2 Where are we now?............................................................................................................. 6 

2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses ................................................................................................ 10 

2.4 Opportunities and Threats................................................................................................. 11 

2.5 Inventory of existing infrastructure and suitability assessment ........................................ 13 

III. VISION CONTEXT FOR ADVANCING TRACEABILITY................................................ 14 

3.1 Vision statement................................................................................................................ 14 

IV. TRACEABILITY REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................... 14 

4.1 Strategic goal(s) ............................................................................................................... 14 

4.2 Programmatic goal(s) (Objectives) .................................................................................. 17 

4.3 Animal Disease Traceability performance measures........................................................ 17 

4.4 Data requirements ............................................................................................................. 18 

4.5 Information technology plan............................................................................................. 19 

4.6 Resource requirements...................................................................................................... 20 

4.7 Organizational needs......................................................................................................... 20 

4.7.1 Executive support.......................................................................................... 20 

4.7.2 Coordination and oversight procedures......................................................... 21 

4.7.3 Policy............................................................................................................. 21 

4.7.4 Staffing .......................................................................................................... 21 

4.7.5 Budget requirements...................................................................................... 21 

4.7.6 Outreach ........................................................................................................ 22 

4.7.6.1 Accredited veterinarians................................................................... 22 

4.7.6.2 Slaughter Plants................................................................................ 22 

4.7.6.3 Industry as a whole........................................................................... 23 

4.8 Monitoring and reporting interstate movement activity ................................................... 23 

V. ADVANCING TRACEABILITY........................................................................................... 24 

5.1 Ranking of priorities for advancement.............................................................................. 24 

VI. ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................................ 25 

6.1 Implementation of objectives............................................................................................ 25 

6.2 Implementation of objectives.............................................................................................. x 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The primary mission of the South Carolina Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) 

Program is to protect the health and marketability of South Carolina livestock. Many 

of the identifiers, tags, and other aspects of the ADT program may add value to other 

aspects of livestock production. Secondary uses that directly relate to animal disease 

control and prevention require diligent protection of producer confidentiality. We 

encourage these other legitimate uses with the explicit approval of the producers. We 

believe that a successful ADT program operating at the “speed of commerce” will 

add significant value to our state’s livestock. Large investments in time and money 

require proven future “value added” for acceptance. We believe the value of animal 

disease traceability will be proportional to the extent of willing participation by all 

industry stakeholders: producers, markets, dealers, etc. This document represents the 

best strategy for South Carolina to improve traceability capabilities. This is a living 

document that will have revisions as new requirements, technologies, and 

implementation methods develop. 

II. CURRENT TRACEABILITY SITUATION 

The Clemson University Livestock Poultry Health (LPH) mission includes protection 

of animal health in South Carolina through control of endemic, foreign, and emerging 

diseases in livestock and poultry. LPH serves South Carolina and fulfills its mission 

as the state’s animal health authority, meat and poultry inspection department, and 

veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Traceability and its four overarching strategic goals 

are fundamental components for protecting animal health in the state. Knowing where 

individually identified, diseased and at-risk animals are, where they’ve been, and 

where they’re going at a given point in time are critical to the success of South 

Carolina’s animal disease control activities. 

Historically, the State Veterinarian’s role of protecting animal health was largely 

through management of specific disease eradication and control programs. The South 

Carolina General Assembly created the position of State Veterinarian with Clemson 

University over a century ago to specifically deal with Cattle Fever Tick in the state. 

Bringing Tuberculosis (TB) and Brucellosis under control took a significant part of 

the twentieth century. During that time, livestock mostly had permanent identification 

and traceability was accomplished through participation in individual disease 

eradication programs such as Brucellosis calfhood vaccination, TB herd certification, 

etc. Most farms with significant livestock production were enrolled in one or more 

disease eradication and certification programs. With the success of these eradication 

efforts, much of this activity stopped. Only rarely does the State Veterinarian’s staff 

have to trace an animal suspected of, or exposed to, any of the program diseases. But 

some of these same diseases, as well as other diseases, lurk, ready to strike the state’s 

livestock. When these existing or emerging diseases strike in South Carolina or are 

traced to South Carolina, our livestock populations and markets are at risk. To 

successfully control an actual, or even perceived disease situation, the State 

Veterinarian must quickly locate the source of the suspect animal and any potentially 

exposed susceptible animals. An efficient animal disease traceability system is pivotal 

to rapid disease control and prompt restoration of markets. 

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Primary responsibility for the South Carolina Animal Disease Traceability program 

rests with the State Veterinarian and his staff. However, program success is dependent 

upon collaboration and effort by all members of the animal agriculture community. 

The South Carolina Animal Disease Traceability Steering Committee formalizes this 

relationship and provides input to the State Veterinarian on the direction of the Animal 

Disease Traceability program and key program-related decisions. The group is 

instrumental in ensuring that the program remains focused on its key guiding 

principles. 

Livestock in South Carolina 

Agribusiness (including forestry) is the largest sector in South Carolina’s economy 

with an estimated $41.7 billion total economic impact1

. Food animal livestock make 

up almost 60% of the non-forestry segment2. Poultry (broilers, turkeys, and egg 

production) is the highest income commodity group, followed by cow-calf, dairy, and 

swine3. South Carolina has no large-scale feedlots. Most of our calf production moves 

to other states for feeding and finishing. Small ruminant production, particularly goats, 

has shown rapid growth. The equine industry is also a major contributor to South 

Carolina’s economy but is not included in the cited animal agriculture production 

statistics. 

In 2016, South Carolina’s poultry industry represented 47.1% of direct sales from the 

state’s agriculture, with a direct economic impact of $4 billion for the state3. Poultry 

companies employ about 13,000 people, while many more work in related fields such 

as feed production, refrigerated trucking, paper box and egg carton manufacturing, 

rendering, and construction5. Poultry is the state’s number one animal agriculture 

export. 

In the cattle industry, South Carolina is mainly a cow/calf production state. Calves 

are born and reared here for several months before being sold for final fattening and 

slaughter. In 2017, the state had a total of 326,114,000 head of cattle and calves2. A 

small but growing segment of cattle farmers are developing forage-fed operations, 

some even finishing and custom marketing their products direct to consumers. Dairy 

cattle statistics stabilized in recent years with approximately 15,310 cows located on 

215 dairy operations2. In 2017, South Carolina dairy sales were almost $57 million2. 

Of these farms, since 2012 the number of operations with more than 100 cows has 

decreased from 52 to 41 commercial dairy farms. 

The swine industry in South Carolina is comprised of primarily finishing operations; 

85-90% of swine producers are contract growers for large companies3. Some smaller 

producers are producing specialized pork for direct sales to supermarkets and highend restaurants. Pork producers are strong supporters of prevention of disease spread 

and animal disease traceability and have long recognized that opportunities for 

industry growth are international. Swine sales in 2017 amounted to $68.6 million2

. 

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2.1 

The demand for goat meat is increasing with many breeders now working in 

associations to meet large commercial sales contracts. South Carolina had 4,580 milk 

goats in 2017, and 35,279 meat and other goats with production totaling about $1.9 

million. Sheep and lamb production also contribute to the state economy. South 

Carolina had 738 farms with 12,627 sheep and lambs in 2017 with production totaling 

about $769,0002. 

There are more than 100,000 horses that reside in South Carolina3

. The horse 

population is very diverse, with approximately 60% considered pleasure horses that 

may be placed in trail riding categories3. The remaining 40% are divided into multiple 

disciplines: racing, breeding, eventing, fox hunting, training, rodeo, showing, driving, 

and polo3. Horses in competitive disciplines are particularly mobile, especially 

showing and polo groups which frequently move not only interstate, but 

internationally. The economic impact of S.C. horses from sales, feed, boarding, and 

other services is about $400 million per year3. In addition to its resident equine 

population, South Carolina hosts a large number of winter-training horses and polo 

horses from international competition. 

Who are we? 

South Carolina’s Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) Steering Committee 

has representatives from LPH, USDA APHIS VS District 1, priority species 

producers and industry groups, Clemson University Cooperative Extension 

Service (CUCES), South Carolina State University, Extension Service, and 

other interested state and federal governmental agencies. The South 

Carolina Traceability Steering Committee meets in person as necessary and 

receives email updates as needed. 

Success of the national animal disease eradication programs has brought a 

significant decrease in the need and frequency of routine animal disease 

traces. Changes in routine tagging, tagging sites and other program 

activities make each trace somewhat more difficult with much higher 

potential consequences. State and federal animal health officials work to 

identify the origin of every identified suspect or contact animal. We are 

usually successful in preserving animal health status in the state, but this is 

often at greater expense than if the traces themselves had been successful at 

truly identifying and tracing the animal from its birth farm to the point that 

it was identified as a concern. 

The most common “official” cattle identification obtained at the point of 

animal identification for needed tracing is the federal backtag during 

slaughter surveillance. For cattle moving directly from a livestock market 

to a slaughter facility, backtags provide valuable information for search of 

market records for seller’s information. Market records are generally a good 

source of information, since markets are regulated, and the required market 

records are subject to state/federal inspection on a regular basis. However, 

in some cases application of a backtag occurs at the slaughter facility, so 

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2.2 

even the best records may only identify the animal to a load of delivered 

cattle. In some of these cases, additional unofficial identification is available 

to help further narrow down the possible source of the animal from the load. 

Hauler/dealer records for the animal load may provide information on the 

dealer/seller or place of origin of the animal(s). Dealers must maintain 

records of all animals bought and sold; however, the quality of dealer 

records is often lower than permanent livestock market records. Often the 

dealer or hauler can only provide information on the farm name(s) where 

animals were loaded on a given day. The trace investigation must then 

expand to those locations. Using available trace movement information and 

available animal identification, contact is made with the potential sellers to 

rule-in or rule-out the seller as the source of the animal being traced. Seller 

records may be able to confirm the original birth farm of the animal or may 

direct investigators to the place of animal origin. Traces thus may or may 

not end with a conclusive source. 

In cases of slower moving contagious diseases, such as TB or Brucellosis, 

herd tests of all possible source premises may satisfy the disease control 

requirements to retain good official health status for the state. 

Incompleteness of a trace may result in much higher testing costs, but not 

necessarily permanent damage to animal health or marketability. In cases 

of chronic diseases, such as scrapie or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy 

(BSE), an incomplete trace leaves critical unknowns that may affect 

marketability for years. In the worst case of a highly contagious emerging 

or foreign disease, incomplete tracing may lead to delays in quarantine and 

testing that may have truly catastrophic consequences. 

Current Status of Traceability in South Carolina 

Current statistics on elements in use to achieve traceability in South 

Carolina are as follows: 

Premises 

There were 6,763 registered premises in the state database as of December 

31, 2021. The following charts provide a breakdown of South Carolina 

premises types and number of premises associated with livestock species: 

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Premises Type # 

Production Unit 9,060 

Non-Producer Participant 124 

Market/Collection Point 119 

Clinic 110 

Exhibition 61 

Slaughter Plant 41 

Meat Processing 7 

Rendering 5 

Laboratory 3 

Port of Entry 1 

Premises Species # 

Bovine 3,299 

Ovine 858 

Porcine 607 

Camelid 61 

Poultry 2,886 

Equine 1,689 

Caprine 3,666 

Interstate Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI) 

Clemson University Animal Health Programs receives and stores Interstate 

Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (ICVIs) and other certified electronic 

movement documents in an electronically accessible state database. 

Statistics for the twelve-month period ending on December 31, 2020, are in 

the chart below: 

South Carolina Database ICVIs (entered 1/1/21 thru 12/31/21) 

Species CVIs Out Animals Out Destinatio 

n States 

CVIs In Animals In Origin 

States 

Cattle 1,160 65,992 31 551 5,860 34 

Sheep 41 223 9 33 207 18 

Goats 102 533 13 50 263 22 

Horses 5,317 10,032 48 5,244 8,627 49 

Swine 412 371,679 15 945 491,385 14 

Poultry 610 7,890,318 45 13,326 24,572,409 32 

Camelids 16 54 5 10 33 6 

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South Carolina Database eCVIs (entered 1/1/21 thru 12/31/21) 

Species eCVIs 

Out 

Animals Out 

on eCVIs 

Destinatio 

n States 

eCVIs In Animals In 

on eCVIs 

Origin 

States 

Cattle 182 1,939 23 256 3,459 26 

Sheep 19 122 6 10 99 8 

Goats 51 285 10 36 204 16 

Horses 3,017 5,171 48 4,054 6,246 49 

Swine 410 371,660 13 934 491,326 10 

Poultry 403 7,872,398 40 576 23,264,587 25 

Camelids 7 11 2 2 8 1 

Tags 

Official individual Animal Identification Numbers (AINs) include “840” 

Electronic Identification (EID) cattle tags, “840” EID equine microchips, 

scrapie tags for sheep and goats, and “silver brite” National Uniform 

Eartagging System (NUES) tags. AINs are initially recorded in the USDA 

Animal Identification Management System (AIMS) then updated in 

USAHERDS when the tags are issued and introduced into production. 

Poultry identification bands are used for non-commercial poultry when 

tested for specific disease programs. These bands are also recorded in 

USAHERDS when issued. Statistics for tags issued, to producers and 

markets or non-commercial entities for specific disease programs, for the 

twelve-month period ending with December 31, 2021, are: 

Tag Type Tags Issued 

NUES 8,009 

Other 2 

Poultry Band 10,661 

RFID 15,128 

Scrapie 62,337 

South Carolina initiated a tag inventory in 2014 with biannual inventories 

occurring in every subsequent year. Through the inventories, unreconciled 

tags were identified. These are tags which were recorded as allocated but 

were unaccounted for in following inventories and lacked an application 

date. To minimize the number of unreconciled tags, the livestock inspectors 

emphasized the importance of tag accountability at livestock markets. By 

successfully communicating the need to maintain accurate tagging records, 

the total number of unreconciled tags in South Carolina reduced by 98.99% 

for NUES and 99.53% for Scrapie tags in the subsequent five years. More 

recently some after-hours markets have been back sliding. Additional work 

is needed with these markets. 

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Total Unreconciled Tags in South Carolina Markets by Tag Type: 

Year NUES Scrapie 

2014 3,975 9,540 

2015 2,077 6,944 

2016 534 2,395 

2017 124 2,065 

2018 40 45 

2019 49 84 

2020 0 102 

2021 10 224 

Permits 

State and federal laws and regulations require permits for public livestock 

markets and equine sales facilities. Public livestock markets include: 

Livestock Auction Markets, Daily Buying Stations, Dealers, Expositions, 

and Miscellaneous Markets. Permit holders must maintain records of 

buyers, sellers, individual animal identification, and exhibitors for at least 

five (5) years for cattle, horses, sheep and goats and two (2) years for poultry 

and swine. Sale market records must be made available to State Animal 

Official representatives upon request. 

South Carolina Active Market Permits as of 12/31/21: 

Permit Type Permits 

Livestock Dealer 59 

Miscellaneous Vendor 46 

Exposition or Fair 21 

Equine Sale Facility 10 

Livestock Auction Market 6 

Miscellaneous Sale 6 

Livestock Auction Market, After Hours 

Re t i t d 

5 

Daily Buying Station 2 

All metrics included in current and previous ADT cooperative agreement 

reports are included in a comprehensive “report card” dashboard. Virtually 

all traceability data are now available to all staff 24/7 as either fully digital 

records or, at worst, scanned and indexed documents. 

Livestock producers are the most important members of the animal 

agriculture industry. Numerous industry groups, government organizations 

and academia support the producers. The South Carolina Department of 

Agriculture, South Carolina Farm Bureau, South Carolina Cattlemen’s 

Association, South Carolina Horsemen’s Council, South Carolina Pork 

Producers, South Carolina Poultry Federation, and many other 

organizations seek to defend the interests of our producers and to preserve 

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2.3 

and extend markets for South Carolina agricultural products. Clemson 

University and South Carolina State University Extension Services 

provide education and support for producers to apply the latest scientific 

advancements in production. Often scientific advancements come from the 

Clemson University Experiment Station through projects targeting 

problems communicated to researchers by the Extension agents in the 

field. Staff of LPH (Office of the State Veterinarian) work to protect the 

health of our animal population and to ensure confidence in the health 

status of South Carolina animals to maintain access to markets in other 

states and around the world. AHP staff further educate producers on the 

importance of animal disease traceability whenever invited to present 

animal disease updates within the state. Conscientious Accredited 

Veterinarian partners are also critical for the success of the program. All 

of us must work together to ensure the health of South Carolina’s livestock 

and livestock industries. 

LPH staff literally invented the eCVI XML data standard by proposing 

that AAVLD/USAHA create the subcommittee on data standards to 

function as a standards development organization (SDO). This standard is 

now widely accepted not because it is perfect but because it was 

developed by the industry for the industry with guidance from regulators 

to ensure it contained all essential information. 

Strengths and Weaknesses 

Strengths: 

The State Veterinarian’s office at LPH includes three departments: Animal 

Health Programs (AHP), the South Carolina Meat Poultry Inspection 

Department (SCMPID), and the Clemson Veterinary Diagnostic Center 

(CVDC). These departments share a facility in Columbia, South Carolina. 

LPH has most of the essential human and technical resources needed. 

Staff include experts in traceability, data standards, poultry, and swine 

identification, etc. 

Weaknesses: 

Each of the resources above is the bare minimum, one-deep, and usually 

multi-tasked between many responsibilities. This true of both human and 

virtual resources. The LPH server hosts four virtual servers providing five 

different full application environments. There are no fail-over capabilities 

beyond off-site backups of data. 

Infrastructure for livestock markets and challenges from the work force 

are concerns. Lack of internet resources still affect areas of the state. 

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2.4 Opportunities and Threats 

Opportunities 

South Carolina has several special opportunities identified as we look 

forward on traceability. Industry groups have shown interest in assisting 

with traceability in South Carolina by exploring possibilities for making 

producer information they hold available in an animal disease event. The 

South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association is a member of the Southeast 

Livestock Network (SELN). SELN has had discussions in the past on how 

data from their age and source verification marketing programs might be 

made available in an animal disease event. This opportunity still holds 

promise and would be consistent with South Carolina’s guiding principle 

of avoiding duplication. The SELN also raised the idea of initiating 

consistent intrastate identification regulations and laws in their member 

states and hope to work with state veterinarians to produce draft 

documents for this purpose. SELN has not been active recently but may 

become more active going forward. South Carolina is open to this 

opportunity should South Carolina stakeholders show interest in this 

concept. 

South Carolina will continue to invest in infrastructure to maintain a 

traceability program, as evidenced by the creation of a new inspector 

position focused on traceability, consistent with USDA’s four overarching 

goals resulting from the State and Federal Animal Disease Traceability 

Working Group 14 key points. To better protect animal health, South 

Carolina can advance data sharing using electronic ID to enhance the 

ability to track animals from birth to slaughter. There is also an 

opportunity to elevate the discussion with accredited veterinarians and 

livestock owners on increasing the usage of eCVIs where animal health 

certificates are electronically transmitted from private veterinarians to 

state animal health officials. 

South Carolina has an opportunity to explore innovations in identification, 

data capture, and transmission and storage of data due to the lower volume 

of livestock routinely handled in our markets compared to those in the 

Midwest, which can accommodate a trial. South Carolina has strength in 

our current ability to trace swine and poultry, including a higher-thanaverage percentage of backyard poultry, thanks to the collaborative 

commitment of these industries to work with us on traceability. South 

Carolina continues to focus on cattle, especially beef cattle of breeding 

age, under this strategic plan. 

Obstacles 

Confidentiality remains a primary concern of South Carolina stakeholders. 

Along with USDA APHIS VS, South Carolina has always maintained and 

assured confidentiality of stakeholder information. Working with our 

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constituents, LPH proposed and successfully achieved legislation in 2012 

to clearly establish confidentiality of this information in South Carolina 

(SC Code of Laws 47-4-170). 

We believe it is a fundamental part of the plan to develop consequences 

for those who do not abide by the regulations implemented to ensure our 

poultry and livestock continue to thrive. South Carolina will collaborate 

with USDA APHIS VS on monitoring and enforcement of proper use of 

official animal identification, proper use of and accurate documentation on 

ICVIs, and appropriate collection of animal ID at slaughter. 

Compatibility between tag technology is an essential component of the 

new strategy. Providing industries with the choice of which tag type works 

best for their operations could limit the interoperability of tagging systems 

and negatively impact the speed of commerce if consistency between tag 

types is not established. 

Our premises registration, tag tracking, and animal health program 

database (USAHERDS) is based on 20-year-old technology. 

USAHERDS’s support vendor (Acclaim Systems) is working on a totally 

new platform, however that change will come at a cost roughly equivalent 

to changing software to a new vendor. It is not clear that USAHERDS will 

remain the best available technology. We may find ourselves needing to 

change systems. Such a change will involve significant cost, both financial 

and in terms of effort and lost productivity during the transition. 

Adequate funding for animal disease traceability remains an issue for 

South Carolina. Transitioning from NUES tags to electronic identification 

may require financial assistance to the producer or livestock markets 

through either cost-sharing for electronic tags and/or infrastructure to read 

EIDs at markets and elsewhere. The proposed elimination of USDA 

providing free tags for cattle (NUES) and the resulting new cost to 

producers is not likely to be well received. The provision of a limited 

number of no-cost RFID tags has been a significant help in this area but is 

not promised to continue indefinitely. Additional discussions at the state 

and national level are necessary to determine the best approach for 

minimizing the economic impact of the new system on the industry. 

South Carolina producers and allied industry concerns about the impact of 

ADT requirements on their profit/loss bottom line persist. In addition, 

there are those who have a basic distrust of government at any level, 

especially the federal level. We must recognize that these individuals 

remain potential obstacles to a fully successful system. 

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2.5 Inventory of existing infrastructure and suitability assessment 

The State Veterinarian is ultimately responsible for all traceability 

activities. An LPH Veterinary Epidemiologist/Informaticist actively 

involved in traceability activities reports directly to the State Veterinarian. 

The AHP Director of Field Services is a veterinarian who also reports 

directly to the State Veterinarian. In addition to the Field Services 

Director, AHP currently (January 2022) has a staff of three (3) 

veterinarians and one (1) administrative staff person at headquarters and 

three (3) livestock law enforcement officers, one (1) livestock inspector in 

the field, one (1) poultry inspector in the field, and one (1) livestock 

inspector for traceability. A significant portion of the AHP administrative 

staff person's duties relate directly to animal disease traceability, to 

include managing ICVIs (by scanning ICVIs and data entry to in-house 

database), movement permits, and market permits and reports. As a larger 

portion of ICVIs become electronic and more swine movement permits 

shift to swine herd plan electronic records, the workflow is shifting from 

data-entry to data quality monitoring of those electronic records. One 

livestock inspector specializing in traceability was added in 2018 to focus 

on increasing usage of eCVIs and EIDs. This inspector also works with 

the State Veterinarian's Administrative Coordinator to complete 

traceability-related tasks to include processing premises registrations and 

exceptions as well as processing AIN (Tag) distributions. All AHP 

veterinarians work to monitor animal health, enforce the laws and 

regulations of South Carolina, and educate stakeholders and the public. 

Each veterinarian has a specialty or area of interest (beef, dairy, swine, 

poultry, equine, small ruminants, and emergency preparedness) and is 

heavily invested in traceability activities. 

The six (6) AHP field staff (law enforcement officers and inspectors) 

actively monitor livestock movement activities, including all activities at 

livestock markets. Each fulfills duties as educator, animal health 

technician, and law enforcement officer. They facilitate compliance by 

performing animal health technical duties, such as disease testing, market 

inspection, and animal identification. The Director of Animal Health 

Programs Field Services supervises and leads their field activities. 

AHP maintains inventory of RFID tags distributed in South Carolina. For 

creating records correlating backtags to RFID tags, we have one (1) 

Allflex LDC-V100 Livestock Logger, six (6) Agrident AWR300 wand 

readers—three on loan to markets—two (2) Allflex RS420-60 RFID wand 

readers, one (1) PD7100 barcode reader, one (1) Destron DTR3e Wand 

RFID reader, and two Aleis-Multi A system panel readers—both on loan 

to markets. The RS420 wand readers can be used alone or with an app on 

a smart phone or Samsung tablets. We also have one (1) AVID handheld 

scanner and one (1) universal IMAX handheld scanner. At the present 

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time, we have a small, adequate inventory of “silver brite” tags and EIDs 

for disease program work. The USDA APHIS VS Cooperative Agreement 

funding continues to support a significant portion of the current 

traceability activities. Additionally, USDA APHS VS supplies 840 RFID 

tags in a limited breeding cattle identification program initiated in 2020. 

Using ADT supplemental funding we have purchased additional wand 

readers to provide to livestock markets. If funding continues, we will 

continue to purchase what is allowed under the supplemental provisions to 

increase South Carolina’s ADT infrastructure while addressing speed of 

commerce needs. 

III. VISION CONTEXT FOR ADVANCING TRACEABILITY 

3.1 Vision Statement 

ADT and its four overarching strategic goals are fundamental foundations 

for protecting animal health in South Carolina. Knowing where individually 

identified, diseased and at-risk animals are, where they’ve been, and where 

they’re going at a given point in time are critical to the success of South 

Carolina’s animal disease control activities. South Carolina will continue to 

promote education, build and adapt infrastructure at the veterinarian, 

producer, market, slaughter facilities, and state regulatory agency to meet 

the speed of commerce. 

IV. TRACEABILITY REQUIREMENTS 

4.1 Strategic goal(s) 

South Carolina seeks to advance ADT to ensure that state animal health 

officials can promptly determine the origin of any reportable disease 

affected or exposed animal in South Carolina, or to promptly trace animals 

moved into South Carolina from another state. Should a determination be 

made that the animal did not originate in South Carolina, state animal health 

officials should be able to determine the state of animal origin - the animal’s 

state of birth or the state of initial tagging of the animal, if the two are not 

the same. South Carolina traceability should also be able to determine the 

identity and location of other South Carolina animals potentially exposed to 

an affected animal. Traceability activities are time-sensitive and should be 

accomplished as quickly as practical and appropriate for the disease of 

concern. 

Guiding Principles 

Key issues identified by South Carolina animal health officials, producers, 

and allied industries as essential to development and implementation of 

animal disease traceability plans for South Carolina include: 

• Confidentiality and appropriate use of information, 

• Options for voluntary use of program elements in marketing and 

management to avoid duplication and extra expense, 

• Minimization of any negative impacts on speed of commerce, 

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• Value consistency between states, especially Southeast states, and 

• Prioritization of activities to those with actual traceability impact. 

Confidentiality is a cornerstone concept in traceability. Participants in the 

Animal Disease Traceability program, at both the state and federal level, 

have been assured that their proprietary information held in federal 

traceability databases, especially information held in state-specific 

applications hosted in the federal systems, is confidential and will only be 

used for animal disease traceability purposes. To ensure continuation of the 

trusted relationship with livestock and poultry producers, we must be able 

to ensure that use of the information we receive is only for animal disease 

traceability and other appropriate purposes, such as disasters, emergencies, 

tracing lost/displaced animals and measuring ADT system performance, 

and otherwise will be kept confidential. 2012 South Carolina legislation 

provides for protection of ADT-related information (South Carolina Code 

of Laws 47-4-170). Protection of information at the federal level is less 

clear. 

Many producers use traceability as a marketing tool. Progressive markets 

may offer incentives for animal age and source verification information. 

Configuration of elements of animal disease traceability should allow 

producers the option to choose to use some or all elements (e.g., AINs, 

PINs) for marketing and management purposes without having to duplicate 

the elements for each purpose. When data essential for traceability is 

already present in existing industry programs, those data should be 

permissible for traceability when technology and permissions allow. 

Traceability efforts must be efficient and simple. Many South Carolina 

livestock markets have marked technologic challenges that limit options for 

technical solutions (e.g., no to limited internet in areas, working staff 

education levels, etc.). When developing and implementing effective 

methods of animal disease traceability, we must consider and minimize any 

negative effects on the speed of commerce. In some cases, improvements in 

animal ID will enhance and improve the speed of commerce and efficiencies 

at stockyards and sales. 

Industry stakeholders repeatedly ask for greater uniformity between states 

to enhance their ability to meet the regulatory requirements. When possible, 

South Carolina continues to collaborate to develop consistent regulations 

within and between states, especially Southeastern states, and to ensure that 

our methods are consistent, well thought out, and more likely to promote 

acceptance from industry, in part by not putting producers in any one state 

at a regulatory disadvantage. In a regulatory environment, it is important to 

keep an open mind to new ideas and accepted practices to achieve improved 

traceability. The ability to successfully trace cattle and other livestock is 

the ultimate goal in South Carolina. 

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The overarching strategic goals of ADT are: 

1. Enhance electronic sharing of data among Federal and State 

animal health officials, veterinarians, and industry, including 

sharing basic ADT data with the Federal Animal Health Events 

Repository (AHER). The federal Animal Health Events 

Repository (AHER) provides an opportunity to advance the 

electronic sharing of data among federal and state animal health 

officials, veterinarians, and industry. As a USAHERDS using 

state, the conversion to the USDA supported USAHERDS 

service was fully functional by January 2022. We look forward 

to seeing how this system works in real-time over the next 

several years. 

2. Increase use of electronic ID tags for animals requiring 

individual identification in order to make the transmission of 

data more efficient. 

3. Enhance the ability to track animals from birth to slaughter 

through a system that allows tracking data points to be 

connected; and 

4. Elevate the discussion with States and industry to work toward 

a system where animal health certificates are electronically 

transmitted from private veterinarians to State animal health 

officials. 

eCVIs have the potential to minimize errors and maximize efficiency in 

understanding how animals are moving into and out of the state. A 

livestock inspector specializing in traceability has been hired to elevate the 

discussion of eCVIs with private veterinarians. This vital increase in 

personnel provides an opportunity to further education within the state on 

the benefits of eCVIs. To enhance our communication and outreach 

efforts, an emphasis can be placed on veterinary practices with the highest 

error to CVI ratios. The traceability specialist can also communicate 

standards for ICVI data and tag performance to industry stakeholders in 

South Carolina. To be able to provide a no-cost eCVI solution to all South 

Carolina accredited veterinarians, Livestock Poultry Health is 

collaborating with several other USAHERDS states to develop the VetCVI App. Once this app is released, it can become the default CVI and can 

replace with supplied paper forms. 

Again, livestock producers are the most important members of the animal 

agriculture industry. Numerous industry groups, government organizations 

and academia support the producers. The South Carolina Department of 

Agriculture, South Carolina Farm Bureau, South Carolina Cattlemen’s 

Association, South Carolina Horsemen’s Council, South Carolina Pork 

Producers, South Carolina Poultry Federation, and many other 

organizations seek to defend the interests of our producers and to preserve 

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and extend markets for South Carolina agricultural products. Clemson 

University and South Carolina State University Extension Services provide 

education and support for producers to apply the latest scientific 

advancements in production. Often scientific advancements come from the 

Clemson University Experiment Station through projects targeting 

problems communicated to researchers by the Extension agents in the field. 

Staff of LPH (Office of the State Veterinarian) work to protect the health of 

our animal population and to ensure confidence in the health status of South 

Carolina animals to maintain access to markets in other states and around 

the world. AHP staff further educate producers on the importance of animal 

disease traceability whenever invited to present animal disease updates 

within the state. Conscientious Accredited Veterinarian partners are also 

critical for the success of the program. All of us must work together to 

ensure the health of South Carolina’s livestock and livestock industries. 

4.2 Programmatic goals 

Programmatic goals for South Carolina include: 

• 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 

• Improve retrieval of available traceability information 

• Establish compatible standards for sharing data with 

States/Tribes/Territories and USDA when needed 

• Integrate surveillance and traceability data 

• Establish advisory committee 

• Establish authority 

• Develop policy 

• Enhance IT infrastructure 

• Establish and/or update tag distribution record system 

• Continue outreach and education programs external stakeholders 

(e.g., producers, veterinarians, markets, haulers, processors, etc.). 

4.3 ADT Trace Performance Measures (TPMs) 

Basic tools essential for successful animal disease traces include animal 

identification, premises identification, animal movement and dealer 

records, as well as permits for livestock markets, events, and sales. South 

Carolina plans to continue to support and monitor these essential processes 

as important indicators of the overall success of traceability in South 

Carolina. 

Traceability performance elements are easy to identify but difficult to 

measure consistently and accurately. The ability to assess the effectiveness 

of the traceability plan critically and fairly should be the same across the 

country. We believe that state participation in federally designed and led 

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4.4 

test exercises are an effective means of evaluating traceability 

performance in the state. USDA has changed to a system of all National 

Priority Trace (NPT) exercises initiated by VS ADT staff. Successful 

tracing depends on several conditions. To date, trace exercises focus on 

movements of cattle with permanent official identification. South Carolina 

actively participates in these exercises. While these exercises provide 

valuable training in retrieval of animal identification and movement 

records from existing systems, they fail to measure the impact of less than 

complete compliance with official animal identification requirements. 

South Carolina’s Trace Performance Measure (TPM) Rating 

Time for the 2020 and 2021 Cooperative Agreement Period: 

TPM 

2020 Avg. 

Elapsed Time 

(Hrs.) 

2021 Avg. 

Elapsed Time 

(Hrs.) 

USDA Rating 

TPM 1 0.68 0.19 Completed successfully 

TPM 2 0.25 0.20 Completed successfully 

TPM 3 0.22 0.27 Completed successfully 

TPM 4 0.30 0.18 Completed successfully 

Data requirements 

Data requirements for traceability involve identification of places 

(premises), animals by official animal identification numbers, and, to a 

much less extent, people as contacts for obtaining information about 

premises and animals. Data collection on animals is critical at each 

significant animal-life event: tagging, movement, and harvest. This data 

collection depends upon the cooperation of producers, markets, dealers, 

laboratories, slaughter facilities, etc. 

Essential attributes of these data include the three key elements of 

information security: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Producers 

must have faith that the use of data collected about them, and their livestock 

is only for appropriate animal disease control activities. Data maintenance 

must be current and always be correct. Data integrity and effectiveness of 

animal disease traceability are lost with transcription errors, lost records, or 

out-of-date information. Data must also be available to all appropriate users 

in a timely manner to support animal disease traceability within a time 

frame that supports effective disease control. 

LPH has used USAHERDS since 2012. Staff enter Animal ID tag 

distribution information into the federal AIMS database and enter tag 

information into USAHERDS when an animal ID is distributed to a 

veterinarian or producer, or physically placed on livestock. Staff use the 

AIMS Excel download file to import AIMS tag information into 

USAHERDS for more convenient access. 

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4.5 

LPH, in conjunction with several other southeastern states that use 

USAHERDS, are working toward having swine health plan movements 

documented in a USAHERDS proprietary Excel spreadsheet format. Prior 

to that we were, and are, converting from various swine company formats 

that we accept if all the required movement elements are included. 

Data are only shared for legitimate animal health purposes as required by 

2012 South Carolina legislation that provides for protection of ADTrelated information (South Carolina Code of Laws 47-4-170). 

Information technology plan 

The information technology plan for LPH continues to consist of four (4) 

main components: premises registration, individual animal identification 

tracking, field electronic data collection, and electronic management of 

Interstate Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI). Premises 

registration data is the foundation of traceability. Effective tracking of 

individual animal identification devices, from manufacture, to distribution, 

to application on individual animals, and finally through animal 

movements, is an essential element for traceability. Capabilities for field 

data collection remain an important element for timely transfer of critical 

animal movement identification and movement information. The use of 

electronic applications for interstate communications of livestock 

movement information, electronic Certificates of Veterinary Inspection 

(eCVI), is an asset for rapid and accurate transfer of critical information. 

The LPH technology plan continues to involve both federal and state 

information processing resources and data sharing, as appropriate. LPH 

remains dependent on the federal system for animal identification number 

management. 

South Carolina uses USAHERDS, a compliant premises registration 

system. This system has improved staff efficiency and reduced exposure of 

producer data to unreliable federal confidentiality policies. LPH provides 

basic premises number registration information to the federal system 

through the premises identification number allocator. This allows us to 

maintain sensitive producer data at the state level. The USAHERDS 

application is approaching twenty years old. Its underlying technology is 

rapidly becoming obsolete. The support vendor for USAHERDS is planning 

and beginning implementation of a completely new platform version. Such 

a change will present challenges both financial and functional. This may 

drive a need to re-evaluate our database platform, while continuing to 

achieve the required functionality. 

LPH scans and indexes ICVI electronically in the USAHERDS platform. 

Paper and electronic versions of the VS Form 9-3 (National Poultry 

Improvement Plan’s movement document for poultry) are also entered into 

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USAHERDS. We continue to pursue effective alternatives to ICVIs and, in 

cooperation with other state animal health officials, to promote the use of 

swine bulk movement and extended equine CVIs. These advancements 

greatly increase efficiency and effectiveness of animal traceability. We are 

active participants in the AAVLD/USAHA Subcommittee on Animal 

Health Surveillance and Information Systems and support standardization 

of ICVI information for data exchange. LPH funding supported the 

development of a USAHERDS add-on that facilitates creation of this 

indexing information in the form of minimally complete USAHERDS CVI 

records with the scanned images automatically attached for rapid retrieval. 

The VS Mobile Information Management System (MIMS) and its 

replacement Animal Health System (AHS) continues to be a significant part 

of the overall technology plan. MIMS/AHS provides the ability to collect 

animal sighting and test information in the field and then efficiently transfer 

those data to state and federal databases, as appropriate. A most critical 

element in the technology plan is the tracking of individual animal 

identification devices through the AIMS. We developed and use a simple 

computer script to facilitate loading of the AIMS records into our local 

USAHERDS, thus maintaining AIMS as the master “source of truth” record 

while making a local, rapidly-accessible copy. Many steps in this process 

remain out of the control of state animal health authorities and tracing must 

be done by, or under the control of, USDA Veterinary Services or other 

federal agencies, such as the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). 

The USAHERDS platform modification handles the function of an AIN 

management system after the initial allocation. We manage all further 

distribution and in-state animal sightings exclusively in state databases. 

4.6 Resource requirements 

Continued federal infrastructure development support is required for 

success of the program. This may include continued financial aid for EID 

reading equipment, EID tags, to developing or modifying Veterinary 

Services Processes Streamlining to allow capture and reporting of EIDs at 

markets or by accredited veterinarians, like how the system allows creation 

of free eCVIs to accredited veterinarians. 

4.7 Organizational needs 

4.7.1 Executive support 

The South Carolina state veterinarian’s office supports the ADT 

program. The baseline measures captured for ADT measurement 

reviews are listed in the current status of traceability portion of this 

Road Map and include monitoring the number of ICVIs vs. eCVIs 

issued for imports and exports each quarter, and EIDs issued by the 

state through the USDA breeding replacement RFID program. 

4.7.2 Coordination and oversight procedures 

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As mentioned earlier, South Carolina’s ADT Steering Committee 

has representatives from LPH, USDA APHIS VS District 1, priority 

species producers and industry groups, Clemson University 

Cooperative Extension Service (CUCES), South Carolina State 

University, Extension Service, and other interested state and federal 

governmental agencies. The South Carolina Traceability Steering 

Committee meets in person as necessary and receives email or 

verbal updates as needed and added Cattlemen’s, Farm Bureau’s, 

veterinary, and other state and local livestock association and 

extension meetings. Ultimately, the State Veterinarian, through 

activities conducted through LPH as discussed in inventory of 

existing infrastructure and suitability assessment are responsible for 

South Carolina’s traceability activities. 

For emergency preparedness, LPH participates on several 

committees addressing questions surrounding ADT during 

emergency disease events (e.g., identification, premises 

identification, movement from zones, etc.). Participation is on the 

National Assembly’s African swine fever working group, Southern 

Agriculture and Animal Disaster Response Alliance (SAADRA) 

and the USAHA permit requirements subcommittee. 

4.7.3 Policy 

State general statute and codes of regulations align with ADT 

general standards. Additional federal changes are needed to 

implement true ADT using official EID tags within 9 CFR 86 and 

are encouraged to standardize to all species including replacing or 

incorporating the scrapie tag program into the ADT program. 

4.7.4 Staffing 

Staff and duties were discussed under “Inventory of existing 

infrastructure and suitability assessment.” 

4.7.5 Budget requirements 

Funding for South Carolina’s ADT programs comes from various 

sources including: 

• State allocated funds for hiring full-time inspectors, 

veterinarians, and office staff. Variable adjustments are 

made annually to cost of living allowanced granted 

• Funding from USDA’s ADT Cooperative Agreement. 

Cooperative agreement funding assists staff working on 

ADT projects while they also perform their state funded FTE 

duties, and 

• Funding from USDA’s Supplementary ADT Cooperative 

Agreement that varies the allowances of use each year rather 

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than allow multiple options that states could select to meet 

their need(s). 

Continued federal financial support is important to continue to 

promote a national program. Knowing a timeline for when federal 

changes to the 9 CFR will occur addressing a more standardized 

official tag (e.g., electronic identification only with retirement of 

NUES tags) will help to establish better timelines for projects with 

external stakeholders and development by veterinary and livestock 

market vendors to track and report date to state and federal 

agencies. 

4.7.6 Outreach 

4.7.6.1. Accredited veterinarians 

Continue outreach to accredited veterinarians 

advancing use of eCVIs, promoting EID usage, 

traceability program education, proper ICVI 

completion refresher trainings and official tag 

inventory and reporting procedures. Outreach is 

made through (and not limited to) direct contact, 

emails or paper mail, social media, website, and 

through state veterinary medical and livestock 

association meetings. 

LPH will continue to work with accredited 

veterinarians and producers to distribute the free tags 

issued to the state associated with USDA breeding 

replacement RFID tag program. 

4.7.6.2. Slaughter plants 

LPH is home to the South Carolina Meat Poultry 

Inspection Department and has good relationships 

with state inspected and crossover plants. USDA 

VS South Carolina office has relationships with the 

federally inspected plants. Communication channels 

exist to request and access records from plants. 

During the Road Map’s operational period, LPH 

will communicate with slaughter plants to listen and 

address (as able) their concerns. 

4.7.6.3. Industry as a whole 

USDA APHIS VS has been conducting a dialogue with state 

animal health officials, producers and other industry 

representatives about what the next steps should be 

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nationally for ADT, especially in cattle. South Carolina 

participates in these discussions and keeps our South 

Carolina stakeholders informed. In South Carolina, we have 

seen significant progress in our ability to trace cattle more 

effectively and efficiently as described earlier in this plan. 

The traceability program is essential to safeguarding the 

health and economic well-being of the livestock industry. 

4.8. Monitoring and reporting interstate movement activity 

All electronic CVIs are imported directly to the LPH database using the 

AAVLD/USAHA data standard. Paper ICVIs are converted to the 

standard data format with the scanned PDF attached and key traceability 

data transcribed using the Civet software developed at LPH and available 

to all states free of charge. 

Paper ICVIs are checked for errors during data transcription with errors 

recorded in the database via Civet. Electronic CVIs are checked 

periodically by LPH staff using a USAHERDS feature developed for LPH 

that allows recording review data searching for unreviewed CVIs. 

The following data are tracked and available upon request. (See current 

statistics reported above.) 

• Number of ICVIs and other interstate movement documents 

created within the State/Tribe/Territory on a year-to-date 

basis for move-out animals 

• Number of ICVIs and other interstate movement documents 

received for move-in animals 

• 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 

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

associated with ICVIs and other interstate movement 

documents, indicating the number of animals officially 

identified and the number not officially identified 

• Volume of distribution for each official numbering 

system/device issued by the State/Tribe/Territory and/or 

AVIC office, including backtags by market or slaughter 

facility. 

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V. ADVANCING TRACEABILITY 

5.1 Ranking of priorities for advancement 

Moving forward, development and implementation of a cost-sharing or 

other infrastructure development financial aid support program that 

minimizes the financial impact of the cost of infrastructure to read EIDs and 

the cost of switching to only EIDs as official identification for cattle and 

other livestock species is important. We have concerns about the impact that 

expansion of individual ID requirement to feeder cattle may have on speed 

of commerce in our markets and elsewhere, one of our core principles. This 

strategic plan will be revisited and adjusted as appropriate should USDA 

APHIS VS reach a final decision or publish a new rule because of the 

current dialogues. 

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5.2 Implementation of objectives 

# Objective Federal Funding 

Required? 

1 Maintain current traceability infrastructure: premises registrations 

(including managing exceptions), traceability web page, coordinating 

steering committee, data entry from paper ICVIs to make information 

electronically accessible, education and outreach activities. 

Yes 

(Including personnel – at 

least 1.0 FTE) 

2 Continue outreach to Accredited Veterinarians: advancing use of 

ECVIs, promoting EID usage, traceability program education, proper 

CVI completion refresher trainings and official tag inventory and 

reporting procedures. 

Yes 

(Including personnel – 

at least 1.0 FTE) 

3 LPH compliance with current South Carolina laws and regulations 

regarding the use of Animal Disease Traceability Data. 

4 Continue to encourage use of alternative methods to document actual 

interstate livestock movements and increase the use of electronic 

ICVIs. 

Yes 

(Including personnel – 

at least 0.5 FTE) 

5 Continue to educate producers on advancing use of animal 

identification for management and marketability. 

Yes 

6 Continue recording individual AIN for cattle from paper ICVIs. Yes 

(Personnel – at least 0.5 

FTE) 

7 Adapt tag inventory system for visual official ID and EIDs, and plan to 

provide financial assistance for infrastructure required to read EIDs in 

commerce and for purchase of EIDs as those resources become 

available. 

Yes 

8 Continued participation in USDA-directed national and state trace 

performance measure (TPM) exercise(s) throughout region. Supports 

USDA developing new exercises to test traceability standards. 

Yes 

(Including personnel – at 

least 0.5 FTE) 

9 Continue to educate producers and stakeholders on consequences to the 

state for failure to comply with animal disease traceability regulations. 

10 Seek harmonization of interstate movement regulations for 

movement of cattle with other states (especially Southern 

States). 

11 Participate in a multi-state workshop for next steps to advance animal 

disease traceability. 

Yes (Including travel) 

VI. ENDNOTES 

1. James B. London, The Impact of the Agribusiness Sector on the South Carolina 

Economy, January 2015, London & Associates, 

https://www.clemson.edu/public/reports/files/ag-impact2015.pdf 

2. 2017 Census of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, National 

Agricultural Statistics Service South Carolina, https://www.nass.usda.gov 

3. The South Carolina Ag-Watch Manual, 2017 Update, Created by Multi-Agency 

Planning Partners and Stakeholders for SC Agriculture with Esmond Choueke, ISBN 

978-0-9898395-6-3, published by Boca Publications Group Inc. 

4. 2016 South Carolina Dairy Facts, American Dairy Association of South Carolina, 

http://southeastdairy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2016-South-Carolina-FactsSheet.pdf 

25 
 

5. South Carolina Poultry Federation, Economic Impact, 

https://scpoultry.org/ecoimpact/ 

26