ADVANCING ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY 

ROAD MAP FOR 

MINNESOTA 

A Three‐Year Plan ‐	Update

Submitted by:

BETH THOMPSON, JD, DVM 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STATE VETERINARIAN

MINNESOTA BOARD OF ANIMAL HEALTH

625 ROBERT ST NORTH, ST. PAUL, MN 55155

651‐296‐2942

Submitted to:

STEPHAN L. SCHAEFBAUER, DVM, MPH 

AREA VETERINARIAN IN CHARGE - MINNESOTA 

ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

VETERINARY SERVICES 

100 BRIDGEPOINT DR, SUITE 180, ST PAUL, MN, 55075

(651) 234‐5680

Original Submission: December 28, 2011

Most recent prior updated submission: March 01, 2018

Current Submission: February 26, 2021
     

   

   

         

           

       

         

             

         

   

   

   

         

         

     

   

   

   

       

   

       

           

       

     

Table of Contents

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

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

2.1 Who are we?....................................................................................................................... 3

2.2 Where are we now?............................................................................................................ 4

2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses................................................................................................. 6

2.4 Opportunities and Threats................................................................................................ 10

2.5 Inventory of existing infrastructure and suitability assessment..........................................10

III. VISION AND MISSION CONTEXT FOR ADVANCING TRACEABILITY ..............................................12

3.1 Vision statement............................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Mission statement ............................................................................................................ 12

IV. TRACEABILITY REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................... 12

4.1 Strategic goal(s)...........................................................................................................................12

4.2 Programmatic goal(s) (Objectives) ..............................................................................12, 21, 23

4.3 Animal disease traceability performance measures......................................................... 13

4.4 Data requirements............................................................................................................ 14

4.5 Information technology plan ............................................................................................ 16

4.6 Resource requirements ......................................................................................... 16, 21‐23

4.7 Organizational needs........................................................................................................ 16

4.7.1 Executive support.......................................................................................... 17

4.7.2 Coordination and oversight procedures ....................................................... 17

4.7.3 Policy ............................................................................................................. 17

4.7.4 Staffing .......................................................................................................... 17

4.7.5 Budget requirements................................................................................18, 21‐23

4.7.6 Outreach........................................................................................................ 18

4.7.6.1 Accredited veterinarians.................................................................. 18

4.7.6.2 Livestock markets............................................................................. 19

4.7.6.3 Industry as a whole .......................................................................... 19

4.8 Monitoring and reporting interstate movement activity ................................................. 20

V. TRACEABILITY IMPLEMENTATION........................................................................................... 20

5.1 Ranking of priorities for advancement ........................................................................20‐21

5.2 Implementation of objectives......................................................................................20‐21
     

                       

                           

                                 

                               

                                 

                       

                           

                               

                  

                           

                           

                         

                   

                             

                     

                               

                     

                       

                         

                            

                       

                         

                           

                           

                               

                     

                    

                         

                           

                             

                         

             

                             

                         

       

       

                                 

                             

                             

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Advancing Animal Disease Traceability Roadmap for Minnesota addresses a three‐year plan for

enhancing the traceability system for livestock within the State of Minnesota. Originally written to

incorporate the path forward for fiscal years 2012 – 2014, the document has been updated as required

and the most recent version of the roadmap reflects plans for fiscal year (FY) 2021 forward.

Minnesota has a solid system in place to trace swine, sheep, goats, cervids, cattle, and bison throughout

the state. However, Minnesota continually works to improve breeding cattle identification, and

producer and veterinarian participation. In this plan we review our current situation, identify strengths

and weaknesses, and list tasks that need to be completed to accomplish this goal. The plan identifies

resources needed and proposes a timeline to facilitate implementation.

 The fundamental problem this plan addresses is the need to improve the ability to trace

livestock, particularly breeding cattle, in Minnesota. This will be achieved, in part, by continuing

to develop and improve our animal health database and information storage [Certificates of

Veterinary Inspection (CVIs), test/vaccination charts and miscellaneous other records] so

information on animal sightings can be accurately stored and easily retrieved. We will focus on

developing systems that increase data accuracy and decrease livestock tracking times.

 The primary benefit of an Animal Disease Traceability system in Minnesota is the ability to track

livestock effectively and efficiently during disease investigations. Control measures can be

rapidly implemented when infected or exposed animals are quickly located, which mitigates the

disease threat. This protects the livestock industry by allowing normal business practices to

resume quickly and minimizes the impact of the disease event on the agricultural economy.

 Our plan builds upon previous efforts to advance traceability. Incorporating successful existing

methods and finding new ways to utilize those methods will advance Minnesota’s traceability

program. As an example, Minnesota’s farm visit program, a multi‐year project that concluded in

2015, allowed our staff the ability to update premises and livestock information throughout the

state. These farm visits also offered an opportunity to speak with producers about their role in

traceability. Our staff had one‐on‐one conversations with farmers about preparing for livestock‐

related emergencies and the importance of record keeping and official identification.

 We are pleased that the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) framework for

traceability allows us to gain support from our livestock producers and stakeholders. By doing

so, we can develop a system that serves our needs for better traceability while minimizing

disruption to the industry. The support of Minnesota’s livestock producers and stakeholders is

essential to the success of the program.

 The resources being requested from the USDA to implement this plan for FY2021 are $138,264.

Please refer to Appendix 1, 2 and 3 for details on these resources.

II. CURRENT TRACEABILITY SITUATION

2.1 Who are we?

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health (Board) is a small state agency dedicated to protecting the health

of the state’s domestic animals. Since 1903, we have worked alongside livestock farmers to eliminate

diseases such as pseudorabies, bovine tuberculosis, as well as both low and highly pathogenic avian

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influenza. More than 118 years of experience has taught us the value of developing relationships with

stakeholders and seeking input from farmers as we work to carry out our mission. Successful disease

eradication is not possible without the cooperation of the people within the industry. We believe the

same is true as we move forward to enhance animal disease traceability in Minnesota and the U.S. The

Board continues to lead the state in this effort. Several partners, including other agencies and livestock

association groups, help us get the job done.

 The primary constituents of our plan are Minnesota farmers who raise livestock and poultry, and

their veterinarians.

 External constituentsinclude farmers and veterinarians outside of Minnesota who export animals

to our state. Animal health officials in other states are also in this group.

 In this roadmap, the term ‘statewide’ refers to all activities, premises, and livestock and poultry

within the borders of the State of Minnesota, excluding tribal land.

 Data that we obtain through traceability efforts is used internally to track livestock sightings and

movements for disease investigations and control programs. Traceability data is used externally

only as requested by other states or the USDA in an official capacity to assist in tracking livestock

movements into or out of Minnesota for disease control or law enforcement purposes.

 The Board values our longstanding relationship with farmers and stakeholders in Minnesota. It is

this relationship that allows us to craft a successful, complete animal disease traceability system.

Minnesota has a diverse and valuable agriculture industry, and we are committed to protecting

it.

 Minnesota’s Animal Disease Traceability Advisory Committee was made up of individuals

representing more than 20 different facets of animal health and Minnesota livestock and poultry

industries. This committee met in person on one occasion since its formation in 2011. We had

anticipated a need to meet with the committee at least annually to gather input before making

‘next steps’ decisions. However, the Board has been able to elicit opinions from stakeholders

through regular contact between Board staff and stakeholder representatives, which has fulfilled

the intent of the advisory committee. However, the Board is currently considering initiating a new

committee, and is waiting for decisions from the USDA regarding the use of RFID ear tags in cattle

and bison, before moving forward.

2.2 Where are we now?

 Animal disease traceability is currently defined as the ability to track livestock efficiently and

effectively for disease purposes. Animal disease traceability is viewed as a cross‐cutting component

to animal health information systems as opposed to a stand‐alone initiative. Most of the work

performed by the Board is relevant to traceability; therefore, most employees work together

towards advancing this initiative.

 Before FY 2012, our measure of traceability was simply reported as either successful or not; either

the animal could be traced or not. Since then, we have implemented the parameters for traceability

capability requested by the USDA in the FY2011 cooperative agreement report. A start and end time

for various trace activities are documented and can be compared to established national baselines.

These activities are called Trace Performance Measures (TPMs). These TPMs are used by the USDA

as exercises to monitor a states’ ability to perform one of the specific activities involving traceability

and official identification. Below are the four TPM activities that are posed to a state as a question.

The state is given an official identification number, and the state response is timed to the minute.

 TPM Activity 1: In what State was an imported animal officially identified?

 TPM Activity 2: Where in your State was the animal officially identified?

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 TPM Activity 3: From what State was an imported animal shipped?

 TPM Activity 4: From what location in your State was an exported animal shipped?

The Board continually strives to improve response times above baseline values for TPMs.

 The USDA prepares TPM State Rating Reports that document an individual state’s

performance. Minnesota’s most recent report became available January 2021. The report

evaluated the Board’s ability to perform TPMs during the 2019‐2020 federal cooperative

agreement period. Minnesota achieved the highest rating of “Excellent” for each TPM

category reviewed in both categories of successful completion and elapsed time.

 In systems for measuring traceability it is important to note that there is a qualitative element to

tracing, i.e. how sure are we that the animal we are tracing was moved to a given destination? For

example, a producer or dealer might indicate that the animal in question went to slaughter. Is that a

successful trace? It may take us only a few hours to get this information from the dealer, but what

documentation assures us that the information is accurate? The case may be closed out as

successfully traced to slaughter, but the range of documentation could be highly variable. In some

situations, a kill sheet from the slaughter plant will show the backtag number in question. In other

situations, backtag numbers are not recorded by the plant or the backtag in question was no longer

on the animal when it arrived at the plant. The question becomes: what constitutes a successful

trace?

 Coordination is currently being achieved within the Board by the attendance of Board staff at

regularly scheduled meetings to discuss traceability related topics as well as routine work

conferences involving the Board’s USDA counterparts in Minnesota. Program initiatives are

evaluated regularly, and input is gathered as necessary from industry stakeholder organizations. The

Board launched an internal livestock market working group including state and federal members in

2021 to further coordination and consistency within livestock markets on traceability related issues.

 Coordination is being achieved statewide in multiple ways. Board employees speak at meetings and

events to ensure that stakeholders can learn about the program. In addition, the Board distributes a

monthly newsletter called Animal Bytes that contains timely information for producers,

veterinarians, and other stakeholders. It frequently contains information related to animal disease

traceability. Additional outreach is achieved via the Board’s website and social media.

 The Board coordinates activities with other existing agencies/units through discussions, meetings,

and conferences calls. The Board has a representative on the regularly scheduled animal disease

traceability information sharing webinar/conference calls hosted by the USDA. In addition, the

Board has provided, and continues to provide, a representative to various workings groups and

committees at the national level that aim to advance animal disease traceability. Examples of groups

that continue active operations that the Board has representation on:

 American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians/United States Animal Health

Association’s joint Committee on Animal Health Surveillance and Information Systems’

Subcommittee on Information Technology Standards (formerly Data Standards

Subcommittee); established 2012

 National Assembly of State Animal Health Officials’ Traceability and Technology

Committee’s electronic CVI (eCVI) Standards Subcommittee; established 2018

 Sheep and Goat electronic identification working group; established 2020

 The Board utilizes a MySQL 5.7 database called CoreOne developed by Trace First. The Board St.

Paul office has a fast Ethernet connection of 10 gigabits per second and can connect to web services

provided by the USDA. St. Paul office personnel that are teleworking are required to acquire and

maintain a virtual private network internet connection within their home offices sufficient to

connect to all necessary web services to perform their work.

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 During business hours (Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST)

requests for information are directed to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. Requests for

information in an emergency or on state holidays, when the office is closed, can be directed 24

hours a day, seven days a week to the Minnesota Duty Officer at the following number: 800‐422‐

0798.

 State funding makes up the majority of monies for the animal disease traceability program in

Minnesota. Federal funding accounts for a minority of Minnesota’s animal disease traceability funds.

However, these federal dollars remain an important contribution to the program and result in

Minnesota’s efforts to enhance traceability being increased by stretching financial resources further

than state funds alone allow.

2.3 Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

 Minnesota is already well into establishing and maintaining an excellent traceability system. We

have identified the vast majority of livestock premises in our state and store locational and contact

information in our database along with information about the livestock held at the site. Our

previous experience with bovine tuberculosis required that we track animals in and out of a disease

control zone. Because of this, much of the infrastructure necessary for a state‐wide traceability

system is already in place. We utilize a searchable database, CoreOne by Trace First, to store

individual animal information including official identification (ID) numbers. Animal events are

captured as a snapshot in time with an animal ID tied to a premises on a specific date. We are

capturing events on imported and exported officially identified cattle. Each of the events are also

associated with the CVI number and issuing veterinarian’s name and contact information for that

animal movement. Board staff capture individual animal information on animals that are tested and

vaccinated for specific livestock diseases.

 In January 2019, the Board started using CVI Central. CVI Central is a software interface the Board

developed with Trace First which replaced previous methods for CVI processing and storage, as well

as transmission of state of destination copies of CVIs. All* CVIs with a Minnesota origin or

destination are maintained in this one interface. Transmittal of CVIs with a non‐Minnesota

destination is automated. A copy of all processed CVIs is archived in CVI Central and documents can

be easily re‐reviewed as needed using a variety of recall methods.

 *CVI Central connects to the USDA’s Veterinary Services Process Streamlining (VSPS)

database with an (Application Programming Interface) API via the USDA’s Enterprise

Messaging Service (EMS). The purpose of this connection is to receive all CVIs issued

through VSPS with a Minnesota origin or destination into CVI Central. This API was

established in February 2021. The EMS is unable to successfully receive all VSPS issued

CVIs, therefore, those not able to be successfully sent from VSPS to EMS are missing

from CVI Central. The USDA has indicated they are working to resolve the issue with

March and April 2021 releases to VSPS.

 Minnesota participates in a CoreOne/CVI Central user group with Trace First and other user states to

share ideas, discuss feature use, and consider new feature development.

 In August 2020, we began our 10th year implementing a permit system for cattle. Import permits

are required for all breeding cattle, exhibition cattle, and cattle that require specific testing before

they can legally enter the state. This information is also captured in our searchable database. This

search ability is beneficial in the event any of these groups of cattle need to be traced, as all

information captured as part of the import permitting process is available to the Board before the

cattle arrive in Minnesota. It typically takes, at minimum, two weeks before the Board would receive

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the CVIs that would allow us to begin tracing. Our import permit database allows for immediate

access to valuable information such as the origin and destination of all imported breeding or

exhibition cattle, or cattle requiring tuberculosis testing. In recognition of the benefits that eCVIs

offer the Board regarding speed of information access, in April 2018 the Board elected to waive the

import permit requirement in most circumstances for imported cattle captured on eCVIs. In

addition, to streamline permitting and allow veterinarians to request a permit through an additional

avenue, an online permit form was added to the Board’s website in March 2020.

 The Board adopted rules to improve traceability for cattle which were effective April 1, 2013. These

rules include the requirement for breeding cattle, rodeo cattle and all cattle for exhibition to be

officially identified upon movement from the herd to another location. In addition, any person or

entity is now required to keep acquisition and disposition records on all their associated cattle for

five years. Rules dealing with official identification were also adopted, detailing how the ear tags will

be distributed, applied, removed, and recorded.

 The Board began distributing free official ear tags to livestock producers and accredited

veterinarians in 2012. This program offered livestock producers and accredited veterinarians metal

national uniform ear tagging system (NUES) ear tags for use in Minnesota livestock. In line with the

USDA’s announcement in spring 2019 that all visual official identification would be phased out and

should no longer be distributed by the end of calendar year 2019, the Board elected to discontinue

distribution of NUES ear tags once supply was exhausted. Though the USDA placed a hold on this

phase out in October 2019, the Board elected to move forward. The Board’s silver NUES tag supply

was exhausted in December 2019 and distribution ceased. A small supply of Brucellosis vaccination

NUES tags remains in inventory for distribution to accredited veterinarians. Distribution of these

tags will also cease once supply is exhausted.

 The Board is a well‐respected agency in the state and has earned the support of the livestock

industry, farm organizations, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and other state agencies.

 The legislature and the governor are also very supportive of the Board’s efforts and have worked to

adequately fund its operations.

 The Board has historically been well staffed with an experienced, dedicated, and talented

workforce, both in the field and office. Employees from both the federal and state side work

diligently together to control and eradicate animal disease and advance traceability efforts in

Minnesota.

 The Board’s animal health database is Trace First’s MySQL 5.7, CoreOne. The Board works closely

with the database developers to add and subtract functionality as needed to cater to specific

programs and the changing needs for animal disease traceability. Many features have been added

and continue to be developed within CoreOne, which will result in a robust animal health database

to fulfill the Board’s needs and assist in protecting Minnesota’s livestock industries.

 The Board’s Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP) allows Board staff to access our data anywhere

with a computer and internet access.

 The state’s information technology staff also supports the Board, USDA staff, and the livestock

industry to advance traceability. The Board believes that technology should be used whenever

possible to assist traceability efforts. Electronic data capture increases data accuracy and allows

animal disease traceability to keep up with the increasing speed of commerce.

 The Board is continually working with veterinarians, livestock markets, and diagnostic testing

laboratories to relay traceability information accurately and, whenever possible, in an electronic

format. When electronic information is received, manual data entry can be avoided. This saves time

and money and reduces data entry errors. Electronic data can be uploaded into our animal health

database quickly and accurately.

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 The Board offers accredited veterinarians in Minnesota the use of a free electronic Certificate of

Veterinary Inspection (MN eCVI) for use on desktop and laptop computers using no‐cost Adobe

Reader software. The MN eCVI allows for a legible document that can be electronically submitted.

This saves staff time for both the Board and the veterinary clinics taking advantage of the MN eCVI.

The Board updated the MN eCVI in August 2017 to better meet the needs of our accredited

veterinarians and distributed this updated version to all interested states for their own use.

 Swine traceability is excellent. This reflects the amount of work individual producers and/or swine

systems have devoted to record keeping associated with the movement of swine, in addition to the

utilization of premises identification.

 A uniform and official protocol for deer and elk ear tags was implemented effective January 1, 2018.

All farmed Cervidae in Minnesota must be identified with a visual, official ear tag. Official ear tags

applied to deer and elk as of January 1, 2018 must adhere to the Animal Identification Number (AIN)

numbering system with a country code prefix (such as 840 for the USA) or the NUES numbering

system. Producer tags that adhere to the location‐based premises number format will be considered

official if they were applied to the animal prior to January 1, 2018.

 Deer and elk producers who wish to move animals interstate must have all animals identified with

two forms of identification. One must be an official ear tag and the other may be one chosen by the

producer, such as another ear tag, a tattoo, or a freeze brand.

 Mandatory sheep and goat identification has been in place in Minnesota since 2006. Compliance

and traceability is very good for breeding sheep and goats. State and federally approved livestock

auction markets and exhibitors do an excellent job making sure animals are officially identified. We

are continually working on improving ID compliance and record keeping with sheep and goat dealers

and within slaughter plants.

 The Board concluded the farm visit program in 2015. This surveyed all Minnesota townships and

identified livestock operations by species of livestock kept. Board field staff utilized the farm visit

program as an outreach tool to educate producers about traceability.

 Board staff have developed a working relationship with the University of Minnesota Extension and

4‐H, which has resulted in the development of an official ‘840’ AIN ear tag that was used for 4‐H

participants starting in the 2014 exhibition season and has continued since.

 The Board has participated in several working groups involving state and federal animal health

officials and industry members to work towards advancing various aspects of animal disease

traceability in Minnesota and across the nation.

 The Board maintains an accessible, updated website to provide practical and relevant educational

and program requirement information to producers, veterinarians, auctioneers, and other

stakeholders.

 The Board maintains accessible online forms for producers, veterinarians, and other stakeholders to

submit payments, complete registrations, acquire permits and request tags or supplies.

 The Board has updated and coordinated all notice of violation documents to make them more

accessible to staff handling compliance concerns with producers, dealers, concentration points, and

veterinarians. Along with this, the Board has identified a subset of personnel to oversee and enforce

compliance consistently.

 The Board was awarded supplemental cooperative agreement funds in FY2019 that allowed for the

purchase of two sets of paired stationary RFID panel readers and four RFID wands for use in

livestock markets. Board staff were able to purchase this equipment, distribute it, and have it

installed (as needed) in June 2020. Board staff continue to work with the recipients of the

equipment to leverage its use.

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 The Board was awarded supplemental cooperative agreement funds in FY2020. The intent of these

funds is to purchase lightweight and durable RFID wands that can be distributed to veterinarians

and livestock concentration points to encourage the use of RFID technology and electronic data

capture methods. The Board is currently going through the purchasing process to acquire this

equipment, which will be a total of 32 units.

Weaknesses

 Much of the focus for developing interstate movement tracking relies on the CVI. This document is

not intended for this purpose. Rather, it indicates that a certain animal or group of animals is

healthy, meets movement requirements, and is eligible for movement. It is not a movement

certificate. Animals listed on the certificate may or may not be moved as intended. A better

approach would be to have a movement certificate that reflects actual movement.

 Minnesota has a large slaughter plant for cull cows and bulls. Because of this, the state has several

slaughter buyers that buy for this plant. Current regulations allow slaughter cattle to be moved into

Minnesota to slaughter without official ear tags if the plant is federally inspected. Additionally,

intrastate movement to slaughter without official ear tags is acceptable if the plant is state or

federally inspected. However, many of these ‘slaughter’ cows may not go immediately to slaughter

as required and are instead brought to adult cow feedlots for a period. Because backtags are

temporary, traceability may be lost on these animals.

 Collection and recording of official identification numbers at slaughter plants would benefit

traceability but is not required and typically not performed. Therefore, the Board does not have a

bookend to retire official identification numbers from our database. In addition, there is no good

system to quickly and easily access slaughter plant records to verify animal slaughter. Rather, the

Board must rely on slaughter plant personnel to get the information to us on their schedule.

 Another weakness is one present throughout our country. Many producers, veterinarians, and

owners/managers of livestock concentration points are reluctant to implement modern technology

within their operations and continue to rely on non‐electronic identification devices and methods of

reporting movements, test, and vaccination data. Manual recording of device numbers results in

increased data errors. These errors are duplicated as information is transferred between the

producer or veterinarian’s field and office as well as between unofficial and official documents prior

to arriving at the Board’s office where manual data entry allows one more opportunity for the input

of erroneous data.

 The Board put significant effort into educating Minnesota’s livestock industry, veterinarians, and

other stakeholders about the USDA’s plan announced in spring 2019 to phase out visual only official

identification for cattle. The USDA put a hold on this plan in October 2019. As of February 2021,

information has not been made available to states to clarify if or when this plan will resume. This has

resulted in difficulty with maintaining trust and support from the industry for the initiative.

 The intra and interstate movement of unidentified feeder cattle.

 Lack of official identification for non‐breeding cattle intrastate movements.

 As documented as a strength above, the Board has historically been well staffed. However,

ramifications of the COVID pandemic have resulted in a hiring freeze at the state since March 2020.

Positions vacated due to retirement/attrition cannot be externally filled without going through an

extensive exemption process with a high bar for approval. This has resulted in significant gaps in

staffing, which has significantly impacted the Board’s ability to perform traceability related data

capture, perform data quality evaluations, and follow up with veterinarians on CVIs with

documented compliance concerns.

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2.4 Opportunities and Threats

This plan will greatly enhance Minnesota’s ability to respond to catastrophic events such as a foreign

animal disease or weather‐related disaster. The component of this plan that will identify and record

premises with livestock operations will allow us to readily contact livestock producers with susceptible

species to inform them of a disease outbreak or other emergency, and outline the next steps they need

to take to protect their animals. Without this information, valuable field staff time would be spent

finding these premises and producers before response measures could be implemented. Components of

this plan that enhance animal identification will reduce the time required to trace animal movement in a

disease emergency, greatly improving our ability to identify animals spreading disease and stopping

their movement. We can enhance our networking opportunities for emergency preparedness and

response as these components are implemented, and education is provided to veterinarians, producers,

exporters, and exhibitors. Integrating emergency preparedness and traceability messages will increase

our efficiency in targeting our audience as we work toward the overarching goal of animal health.

Implementation of this Road Map provides numerous opportunities for networking and sharing

resources. These include coordinating data entry and disease information with the Minnesota

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MVDL) and the Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association (MN

DHIA) as well as working with producers, livestock dealers and extension and market personnel to

promote animal health and improve record keeping. In addition, it will provide the opportunity for both

producers and veterinarians to adopt twenty‐first century technology to facilitate business operations.

2.5 Inventory of existing infrastructure and suitability assessment

 The Board has permanent office space in the first floor of the Orville‐Freeman Building in St. Paul,

Minnesota. This space is large enough to house all St. Paul staff. Prior to March 2020, all Board office

staff worked out of the Orville‐Freeman Building. A small number of office staff had approved

telework agreements that allowed the individual to telework, typically one day a week. Beginning in

March 2020, all St. Paul staff have been teleworking as directed by the Governor. A small group of

office employees continue to rotate working out of the St. Paul office 2‐3 days a week which allows

the Board to maintain basic services including receipt and distribution of mail.

 Various personnel within permanent postings out of the St. Paul Board office have access to USDA

animal health information systems such as:

o USDA Veterinary Services Process Streamlining

o Animal Identification Number Management System

o Emergency Management Response System 2

o Data Management Center

o Veterinary Services Laboratory Submissions

o Surveillance Collaboration Services

o Data Integration Services

 The Board’s minimum paper record systems used to access animal disease traceability or animal

health information is organized within the St. Paul office to expedite retrieval times. Historical

regulatory testing and vaccination paperwork is filed within the Board office as follows. There is a

folder for each week of the year and tuberculosis (TB) test charts entered during that week are filed

alphabetically within that folder. Historical Brucellosis vaccination paperwork is filed by the

accreditation code of the vaccinating veterinarian. Currently, all received regulatory testing and

vaccination paperwork for cattle/bison is attached as a PDF at the time of data capture within

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CoreOne to the individual accession or vaccination record. The transition to all test and vaccination

records filed electronically, as opposed to paper, occurred between two and three years ago.

 The Board began transitioning paper CVIs into electronic storage in 2012. The transition started with

cattle and bison CVIs. These CVIs were scanned into the computer and saved in PDF format. The

CVIs were separated by import and export and saved in files specific to each state of origin (for

import CVIs) and state of destination (for export CVIs) by year. In addition, the CVI number of each

document is captured and electronically searchable for easy retrieval by a user. All animals entered

into our searchable animal health database with an official ID, and are captured on a CVI, are

associated with the CVI number. Each time a trace is performed using a cattle or bison’s official ID,

the CVI number can be pulled from that record and searched for electronically and retrieved within

minutes. This is a significant improvement from the time it has taken in the past when Board staff

was dependent solely on paper records and searching through files and boxes.

 From July 2013 – December 2018, all Minnesota export CVIs with animals destined to other states

were scanned and sent as an electronic email attachment to the State of Destination once weekly.

Each of these emailed attachments containing export CVIs were also saved within files separating

each file by State of Destination and by the week sent, to maintain an electronic copy of each file

sent to a State of Destination. Paper copies of all scanned CVIs were maintained for at least 30 days

and then destroyed.

 All CVIs with a Minnesota origin or destination are processed and maintained in CVI Central. CVIs are

sent to CVI Central via email or an API. Copies of CVIs received via an API are received near real‐time

upon issuance. Copies of CVIs received electronically via email are sent to CVI Central within 24

hours of receipt. CVIs received via the United States Postal Service are scanned into CVI Central the

same day mail is processed. A copy of each CVI with a non‐Minnesota destination is automatically

sent to the state of destination via email within 24 hours of the CVI entering CVI Central, with the

exception of those eCVIs which are sent directly to the state of destination by the eCVI provider.

Each CVI is reviewed by the Board. At minimum, states of origin and destination, species, CVI

number and issue date are captured for each CVI. Cattle and bison CVIs which include official

identification numbers for individual animals additionally have all known individual animal

information captured. Each livestock CVI processed in CVI Central creates a record in CoreOne.

These records allow the Board to track summary data on imports and exports of equine, porcine,

caprine, ovine, and non‐officially identified cattle and bison. CVIs with officially identified cattle,

bison, and cervids have complete movement records created in CoreOne and the processed CVI is

automatically attached to each movement. Paper CVIs that have been scanned into CVI Central

require manual data entry. Electronic CVIs that enter CVI Central allow for automated data capture.

 The Board’s animal health database is Trace First’s MySQL 5.7 database, CoreOne. The Board’s St.

Paul office has a fast Ethernet connection of 10 gigabits per second and can connect to web services

provided by the USDA. Personnel located in the field have portable internet connections usable

within each of their home offices as well as anywhere in the field with cellular service available

through the state’s provider. Cellular communication is standard for each field employee with a

smartphone featuring 24/7 web‐based access. St. Paul office personnel that are teleworking are

required to acquire and maintain a virtual private network internet connection within their home

offices sufficient to connect to all necessary web services to perform their work.

 Minnesota currently has a reliable system for tracing swine, and compliance with identification

requirements is excellent. All CVIs for hogs are housed at the Board. For feeding swine (nursery or

finishing) imported into Minnesota, acceptable identification includes a USDA NUES ear tag, an AIN

ear tag beginning with a country code, or a tattoo with the herd identifier or premises number. The

vast majority of feeders will have a tattoo; groups of feeders will generally stay together as a group

through marketing. Breeding swine are allowed a USDA NUES ear tag, an AIN ear tag beginning with

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a country code, or a breed registry associated ear notching, with registration papers. Slaughter

animals are allowed to enter Minnesota without official identification if they are going directly to a

federally approved buying station or slaughter plant. PIN tags may also be used in imported cull

sows and boars. The Board currently allows 19 Minnesota based hog production systems to move

hogs within their systems and between states with a swine production health plan, pursuant to 9

CFR 71. Each production system forwards the required information to the Board on a weekly basis.

III. VISION AND MISSION CONTEXT FOR ADVANCING TRACEABILITY

3.1 and 3.2 Vision and mission statement

The mission of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health is to protect the health of the state’s domestic

animals through education and cooperation with veterinarians, producers, owners, and communities.

The Board also has a slogan: Healthy animals for healthy people and communities.

IV. TRACEABILITY REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Strategic goal

Minnesota’s strategic goal is to continue development and implementation of a statewide infrastructure

for advancing animal disease traceability compatible with State and USDA standards.

4.2 Programmatic goals (objectives)

Refer to Appendix 1.

Short‐Term Goals

 Meet traceability performance standards by documenting and recording traces and trace exercises

as described in 4.3 below.

 Continue to assist with producer compliance in tagging all breeding cattle prior to these cattle

leaving the farm and before comingling with other livestock.

 Continue use of Trace First’s CoreOne database as a compatible system with USDA APHIS and as

the Board’s animal health database.

 Continued implementation of an outreach plan to educate and assist livestock dealers, agents,

producers, veterinarians, individuals associated with concentration points, and other stakeholders

on animal disease traceability.

 Continue to develop positive relationships with Minnesota cattle dealers and agents, thereby

encouraging cooperation and improvement of animal disease traceability. Continue to work with

these dealers/agents by first; updating all available contact information in the Board’s animal health

database, and second; regularly reaching out to subsets of individuals regarding animal

identification and record‐keeping requirements.

 Continue to educate producers about the importance of good record keeping increasing compliance

with Minnesota’s rule that requires anyone who places official identification devices to keep records

of all devices placed in addition to the acquisition and disposition of the identified cattle.

 Continue to educate the public about the Board’s rules which contain needed authorities and

procedures for livestock traceability. These became effective April 1, 2013. Continue enforcement of

these rules.

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 Permit slaughter‐only handling facilities as needed and monitor compliance with livestock

identification and record keeping requirements at these facilities. Currently, there are three

permitted slaughter‐only handling facilities in the state.

 Enforce the Board’s rule that all breeding cattle must be officially identified before they leave the

farm and are comingled with other livestock. Enforce the Board’s rule that all individuals that buy

breeding cattle must keep records of the cattle’s official identification numbers as well as

when/where the cattle were acquired from and when/where they were disposed (sold, transferred,

traded, etc.)

 Monitor and enforce official identification and record keeping requirements at livestock

concentrations points.

 Continue to implement compliance policies to address movement and identification violations.

 Increase the availability of electronic records for cattle and bison to assist with animal disease

traceability efforts and continue to monitor identification and interstate movement activities.

 Continue to look for opportunities to increase the efficiency of data collection for sightings of cattle

within the state (e.g. test charts, Brucellosis vaccination records) and coming into the state (e.g.

CVIs) within the Board’s animal health database prioritizing electronic data capture methods.

 Continue sending Minnesota premises numbers (LIDs) to the USDA to allow livestock producers to

order ‘840’ series AIN tags direct from manufacturers. Solely the LID number is sent to the USDA, no

contact or locational information accompanies the LID.

 Continue to work with Trace First to further develop CVI Central as a tool for complete and thorough

CVI processing, storage, data transmittal, CVI compliance documentation, and data auto‐capture.

 Encourage the use of electronic CVI options for accredited veterinarians.

Mid‐Term Goals

 Continue to increase sources from which cattle official identification numbers can be captured,

especially in electronic formats. This includes the development of a procedure that would allow

auto‐upload of the MVDL’s test data and animal identification into the Board’s animal health

database.

 Consider avenues to educate veterinarians and stakeholders about the advantage of using RFID

technology for Minnesota cattle for official identification. This goal will move forward more readily

once a decision is shared from the USDA regarding its April 2019 plan to phase out visual only official

identification for cattle/bison which has been on hold since October 2019.

 Encourage veterinarians and market personnel to become proficient users of available technologies

associated with RFID ear tags used by clients/producers within their practices and facilities.

Encourage the use of this technology to electronically capture data in large herds for interstate

movement, international export, other regulatory work, and at points of livestock concentration.

 Incorporate laboratory submissions with livestock official identification numbers from the MVDL

into the Board’s animal health database utilizing the shared use of national premises identification

numbers (PINs) or Minnesota LIDs.

 Continue education of Minnesota licensed auctioneers to keep them aware of Minnesota rules

related to identification and record keeping of livestock and how that impacts their clients selling

livestock in Minnesota.

4.3 Animal disease traceability performance measures (TPMs)

The animal disease traceability performance measures currently used include:

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 TPM 1‐ Response time to answer the question: In what State was an imported animal officially

identified?

 TPM 2 ‐ Response time to answer the question: Where in your State was the animal officially

identified?

 TPM 3 ‐ Response time to answer the question: From what State was an animal shipped?

 TPM 4 ‐ Response time to answer the question: From what location in your State was an

exported animal shipped?

For each cooperative agreement period, Minnesota will report at least the minimum TPM quota set by

the USDA. For the FY2020 period (04/01/2020 – 03/31/2021), the quota is two TPMs for each question.

The USDA plans to administer each of these TPMs. As of February 26, 2021, no TPMs have been received

by the Board for the FY2020 period. Each TPM received will be reported to the USDA using the required

reporting method. Currently, the required reporting method is the Emergency Management Response

System 2 (EMRS2). These test traces, along with any actual traces performed during each cooperative

agreement period, will assist in determining Minnesota’s ability to efficiently and effectively trace

officially identified livestock.

We will also use the following objective measures in Minnesota to determine the success of our

traceability program:

 Number of cattle sightings captured in our traceability database.

 Number of official identification ear tags distributed to producers and accredited veterinarians.

4.4 Data requirements

 Capture of location information for livestock premises within the state of Minnesota is accomplished

in several ways. Since 1990, the Board has worked to build a computer database of Minnesota

livestock premises. Premises have been identified by location and species of livestock present.

Information has also been collected regarding farm names and contact personnel. Each livestock

premises in the Minnesota database has been assigned an official premises identification number

that meets the USDA’s requirements of a State‐Issued Location Identifier (LID). The LID formula uses

“MN” plus a six‐digit unique number. In addition, some producers will call to volunteer locational

and livestock information to the Board. The Board also verifies, creates, and eliminates livestock

premises and verifies and updates locational information associated with these premises using

information gained through communications with producers and veterinarians that result from

follow‐up related to CVIs, test charts, and vaccination records. The Board has also been issuing PINs

since 2004, in the national animal identification system format of a seven‐character alphanumeric

code with the right‐most character being a check digit based upon the ISO 7064 Mod 36/37 check

digit algorithm. These numbers are issued at the request of the producer. In 2018, the

administration of national premises registration was moved to the area USDA VS office.

 The Board will accept all official identification options approved by the USDA for each species of

covered livestock. This includes all USDA metal and plastic NUES ear tags (not approved for use in

sheep or goats) and AIN ear tags beginning with the USA prefix code of ’840’ or other official

territory/country codes. If the following ear tags were applied prior to March 11, 2015, the Board

will also accept these tags in livestock other than sheep and goats: AIN tags beginning with ‘USA’ or

manufacturer coded tags beginning with ‘900’‐‘998’, as well as the American ID ear tags beginning

with ‘USA’ followed by 8‐9 digits. The Board also currently accepts breed registry tattoos/tags in

cattle when that tattoo is accompanied with documentation including the breed registry number; no

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pending registry information is accepted as official. Breed registry tattoos/tags and registration

numbers are only acceptable for interstate movement from states that Minnesota has an

agreement with to accept this alternate identification method. Currently, Minnesota has such an

agreement with three states: Iowa, South Dakota, and Missouri.

 In 2012, Minnesota began distributing USDA metal NUES ear tags from the Board office to

accredited veterinarians (both silver identification and orange Brucellosis vaccination tags) as well as

to producers (silver NUES tags only). Distribution of silver NUES tags was discontinued in December

2019 when the supply was exhausted. A small supply of orange Brucellosis vaccination NUES tags is

still available for accredited veterinarians and distribution of these tags will also discontinue upon

supply depletion. Veterinarians and livestock producers can order their preferred official ear tags

from a variety of manufacturers/distributors and options are outlined by species on the Board’s

website, which assists in compliance with the Board’s rules.

 The Board uses CoreOne by Trace First for a tag distribution record keeping system. This system

allows a single tag or series of tags to be tied to a Minnesota premises with a date. Each record

reflects where the tags originated from and what premises the tags were last assigned to. If tags are

reported to have been moved from one premises to another premises, the tags are easily

reallocated within the database and all that information is tracked. A quick query can show the

entire history of any given tag that is entered beginning with the original entry which would typically

be the day the tag series was assigned to the ear tag manufacturing company for printing.

 A process has been approved that allows the use of a spreadsheet file to be sent with some import

CVIs to better capture individually identified livestock. This process is outlined in the CVI Addendum

Policy. This addendum policy specifies how a CVI can be issued for veterinarians wanting to use

attachments or separate papers that include official identification numbers and other individual

animal information. A traditional CVI is issued by the veterinarian from the state of origin and then if

an attachment/addendum is used, the addendum must follow the CVI Addendum Policy which

describes how the attachment/addendum is correlated with the issued CVI. The policy also requires

all individual animal information be sent to the Board in an electronic format, a template to submit

this information is available on the Board’s website. Often the CVIs we receive that follow this policy

are issued for several hundreds of cattle. This policy is beneficial as it ensures that the attachment or

addendum information can always be correlated with the issued CVI, even if they become

separated, and it allows the Board to electronically upload the individual animal information directly

into our database quickly and without the data entry errors that would accompany manual data

entry.

 In January 2021, the Board began messaging animal sighting information into the USDA’s Animal

Health Event Repository (AHER) via the USDA’s Enterprise Messaging Service (EMS) as required by

the USDA under the animal disease traceability cooperative agreement. The following data points

are messaged to AHER via EMS for each record sent from CoreOne: tag number, date, event type,

State, Premises ID, and system holding data.

 Animal disease traceability information requested by other States/Tribes/Territories and the USDA

would need to be requested during regular business hours using the Board’s general business

number. In case of emergency, the Minnesota Duty Officer can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven

days a week and emergency requests would then be routed to the appropriate animal health

official. Minnesota Statute §13.643 subdivision 6 prohibits the disclosure of animal premises data

except when it is necessary to aid in the law enforcement process or the protection of public or

animal health or safety.

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4.5 Information technology plan

The Board currently contracts with Minnesota Information Technology (MN.IT) Services to offer

necessary information technology support for the Board through a Service Level Agreement (SLA).

The Board also contracts with Trace First through MN.IT to use their animal health application, CoreOne.

In March 2018, the Board transitioned from MN.IT hosting CoreOne on state servers to Trace First

hosting CoreOne on Amazon Web Services (AWS). MN.IT continues to host the Board’s report server

application on a MySQL platform. This platform and AWS are scalable to meet traceability data needs.

The Board has a database manager who is assisted by information technology staff with updates and

releases of the CoreOne application. This individual works with Board and MN.IT staff and is actively

engaged in testing the CoreOne application and requesting additional functionality to meet the

traceability and other program needs of the Board. MN.IT continues to facilitate all contracts with Trace

First as well as reporting and mapping needs relating to CoreOne via the SLA.

4.6 Resource requirements

The following additional resources are needed to implement the animal disease traceability road map

for Minnesota:

 Various personnel will be needed to implement Minnesota’s traceability plans over the next

three years. Though most Board staff is involved with traceability initiatives to some extent,

some dedicated personnel are required to carry out program components. A mixture of office

staff and field staff time will be vital to each objective within the Board’s plan. Please refer to

Appendices 1, 2 and 3 for details on personnel and associated travel resource and expense

requirements.

 Improved options are needed that would allow private veterinarians to electronically issue

documents, including test charts, vaccination records, and CVIs. These tools must be intuitive

and user friendly for the veterinarians as well as offer expedient methods for data to be

captured by the Board. The USDA has mentioned work on an interface that may be available in

the future to accredited veterinarians and state/federal animal health officials for electronically

capturing data for disease programs such as tuberculosis and brucellosis as well as CVI data.

 Available funds (federal, state, or industry) or cost sharing options to support RFID technology is

needed. This may include RFID tags for livestock producers and veterinarians as well as RFID

handheld and/or stationary readers for livestock concentration points.

4.7 Organizational needs

The following identifies organizational transformations that might be needed to implement the animal

disease traceability road map.

 Since this document was originally submitted to the USDA, the Board has accomplished the

development of an import / export division within the St. Paul Board office that allows specific

staff to be dedicated to this important aspect of animal disease traceability. Previously, duties

associated with animal import and export activities were divided among office staff that

worked within various divisions and disease programs. The consolidation of these duties has

increased efficiency and allowed for more seamless oversight of interstate animal movements

and this area of traceability. The division continues to evolve to meet the needs of the agency.

CVI Central has allowed the Board to further streamline CVI processing and storage and in time

we hope it will additionally allow for efficient methods to track and report CVI Compliance.

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 Ramifications of the COVID pandemic have resulted in a hiring freeze at the state since March

2020. Positions vacated due to retirement/attrition cannot be externally filled without going

through an extensive exemption process with a high bar for approval. This has resulted in

significant gaps in staffing, which has significantly impacted the Board’s ability to perform

traceability related data capture, perform data quality evaluations, and follow up with

veterinarians on CVIs with documented compliance concerns. The Board is hopeful these issues

will resolve soon.

4.7.1 Executive support

Current administrative authorities within the State of Minnesota view the importance of a sound animal

disease traceability system for the well‐being of the livestock and poultry industries as critical.

 Additional support from executive management within the state does not appear to be needed.

The importance of animal disease traceability is clear in the minds of all and remains a critical

program as Minnesota is determined to remain bovine tuberculosis free as well as free of other

detrimental animal diseases.

 Officials are regularly briefed on progress of the animal disease traceability plans for Minnesota.

4.7.2 Coordination and oversight procedures

 Responsibilities are assigned for implementing the plan according to the various divisions within the

Board. Different program directors oversee various diseases and animal species. In addition to this,

the Board has a separate division for oversight of imports and exports. Since all species move into

and out of the state, there is overlap between each animal division within the Board and the import/

export division. All import/export activities have been consolidated to this one division and this

allows the staff of the separate animal divisions to be able to better concentrate duties on the

disease programs within their specified species divisions. There is a Senior Veterinarian that acts to

oversee all import/export activities, traceability initiatives, and work involving livestock auction

markets and dealers. Another Senior Veterinarian has oversight of livestock sales and exhibitions

and a third Senior Veterinarian oversees compliance. Due to the cross‐cutting nature of animal

disease traceability across disciplines, two other Senior Veterinarians, two Assistant Directors, and

the Executive Director all assist to varying degrees with implementation of the animal traceability

plans for Minnesota along with critical office support and field staff.

 The State Veterinarian / Executive Director of the Board has been in her position since 2016, prior to

this, executive management was in place for more than 10 years. In 2019, a new Commissioner of

Agriculture was named in Minnesota. The State Veterinarian / Executive Director of the Board meets

with the Commissioner regularly to inform him about the Board and various important programs

and initiatives. We have experienced a seamless transition with this important cooperating state

agency.

4.7.3 Policy

 Minnesota Statute §13.643 subdivision 6 prohibits the disclosure of animal premises data except

when it is necessary to aid in the law enforcement process or the protection of public or animal

health or safety.

4.7.4 Staffing

 Personnel needed to implement the plan include most employees of the Board. All six district

veterinarians, four agricultural advisors, and one agricultural consultant field employees, and a

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majority of the 23 St. Paul Board office staff assist in the animal disease traceability program in

some capacity. Employees of the Board’s Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory are also integral

players for the poultry industry. In addition, several employees with the USDA area office, field

veterinary medical officers (VMOs) and animal health technicians (AHTs) with the USDA make up

some of the personnel that are not employed directly by the Board, and are also important

members of the animal disease traceability team throughout the state.

 The gathering of animal disease traceability information is a distinct function within the Board

that overlaps with many other Board responsibilities and disease programs. As an example, the

TB program requires the accurate completion of TB test charts. However, the information

represented on TB test charts is not used solely with the TB program, it is also utilized for animal

disease traceability purposes.

4.7.5 Budget requirements

 The Board attempts to insulate against budget cuts and shortfalls by actively working to create

and maintain positive relationships throughout Minnesota’s livestock industry and stakeholder

groups, as well as with state legislators.

 No other funding sources can be leveraged to support this plan without additional state costs.

There are some Board programs whose activities result in information that may be able to be

utilized for animal disease traceability; however, to leverage the information in an alternative

manner, additional financial resources would be needed.

 Appendices 1, 2, and 3 contain the actual federal resources requested for the FY2021

Traceability Cooperative Agreement. The federal resources requested are not a reflection of the

total cost of the program.

4.7.6 Outreach

4.7.6.1 Accredited veterinarians

 The Board will communicate our plan for enhancing traceability with accredited veterinarians in

several ways. We exhibit at multiple events annually, including the Minnesota Veterinary

Medical Association annual meeting in February and plan to continue attendance. At this event,

we can have conversations with many veterinarians and veterinary technicians about their role

in traceability. The Board additionally often presents to veterinarians during the University of

Minnesota’s annual Dairy Health Conference held in April.

 The Board also has accredited veterinarians on staff to present information to veterinary

students as part of their core accreditation training. The presented information includes details

on how they can help achieve better traceability by completing forms (CVIs, test charts,

vaccination records) legibly and accurately as well as keeping appropriate records on official

identification.

 Our monthly electronic newsletter, Animal Bytes, is distributed to all veterinary clinics in

Minnesota as well as individual veterinarians, stakeholder groups, and livestock/poultry

producers. This is our primary method of communication with veterinarians, although we also

utilize electronically delivered Veterinary Alerts to communicate directly with clinics and

veterinarians when appropriate. We have used this publication to educate veterinarians about

the importance of completely and accurately filling out official forms and test charts. We

regularly include information on Minnesota’s and other states’ importation requirements. In

addition, the Board has a Facebook page. Social media allows us to communicate to all the

groups previously mentioned and to potentially reach a broader audience.

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 The Board employs district veterinarians who have home offices across the state. When a

private practitioner has difficulties with any aspect of work relating to accreditation, the district

veterinarian visits the individual to help find a solution to the problem. We use our district

veterinarians in the same way to personally educate private practitioners on how they can help

achieve better traceability in Minnesota.

 The Board continues to inform veterinarians of the existence of options for the issuance of e‐

forms including eCVIs. This includes the MN eCVI which was originally developed by Kansas and

Colorado and is now referred to as the States’ eCVI. All eCVI options are presented on the

Board’s website as well so accredited veterinarians can easily access and review options and

information. The Board will stay apprised of developing options that may meet the needs of the

State, Minnesota’s accredited veterinarians, and their clients.

4.7.6.2 Livestock markets

 The Board has been developing relationships with auction market staff for many years. Most of

our field staff have lived and worked in their districts for over 20 years. Typically, Board staff

visit livestock markets at least twice each month. Regular visits ensure time to discuss programs

and address concerns with market staff. We regularly have dialogue with market managers,

market veterinarians, and staff about Minnesota’s steps in enhancing traceability. These

personal visits will continue to be the main form of outreach with markets.

 Through past disease investigations, we have had opportunities to use market records to trace

animal movements. Our field staff work face‐to‐face with market personnel to obtain needed

information.

 The Board continues to require livestock markets within Minnesota maintain records of

individual official animal identification numbers for all breeding cattle that move through the

facilities. This information is then made available to Board staff as needed for traceability

purposes. Board staff continue to work closely with the markets to implement procedures to

capture this information electronically whenever possible.

 Detailed inspection guidance and educational documents are currently under development that

will offer clarity regarding all market rules and ensure consistency in market inspections.

4.7.6.3 Industry as a whole

 The Board maintains an open dialogue with the livestock and poultry industries. We exhibit at

association group meetings and conventions and engage with farmers and other stakeholders.

Our communications division works closely with the leadership of producer groups to develop

consistent outreach. They also stay abreast of industry issues by meeting regularly in groups like

the Poultry Communicators, Healthy Swine Communicators, Minnesota Ag Communicators,

Minnesota Association of Government Communicators, and Communication Officers of State

Departments of Agriculture. Board staff frequently speak at events and meetings on topics

ranging from rabies to animal disease traceability. We stay connected with industry issues

through direct relationships and media monitoring. These tools, combined with our newsletter,

news releases and direct‐to‐farm mailings, help us continue to provide updates and seek input

from industry.

 There are other resources the Board utilizes to broaden the scale of outreach. The University of

Minnesota Extension Service, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of

Health, Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom, and 4‐H leaders each have a unique skill set and

audience that further enhance our communication efforts.

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 The livestock industry in Minnesota includes livestock producers, markets, handling facilities,

livestock dealers and livestock organizations. Some of the groups with the largest memberships

include: Minnesota Milk Producers, Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association, Minnesota

State Cattlemen’s Association, Minnesota Livestock Breeders Association, Minnesota Lamb and

Wool Producers, Minnesota Turkey Grower’s Association, Chicken and Egg Association of

Minnesota, Minnesota Pork Producers Association, Minnesota Elk Breeders, Minnesota Deer

Farmers, Minnesota Beef Council, Minnesota Buffalo Association, Minnesota Farm Bureau, and

Minnesota Farmers Union.

4.8 Monitoring and reporting interstate movement activity

 Within Minnesota’s animal health database, there is the ability to capture information on the

number of CVIs received at the Board to and from each state as well as how many animals are

represented on each CVI.

 Information received by accredited veterinarians on CVIs will be considered valid and

verification of that information will not occur unless a concern arises related to a specific CVI or

accredited veterinarian.

 Various animal disease traceability statistics are available and reported through animal disease

traceability cooperative agreements as specified in each annual work plan. Examples of the

information reported may include:

o Number of cattle and bison CVIs for import and export.

o Number of officially identified cattle and bison records captured.

o Volume of distribution of official numbering devices.

V. TRACEABILITY IMPLEMENTATION

5.1 Ranking of priorities for advancement

 Specific steps needed to advance traceability in Minnesota are outlined as tasks in Appendix 1.

Projected time periods for completion dates are included when appropriate.

5.2 Implementation of objectives

Refer to Appendix 1

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Appendix 1

Objective Task Priority Begin date

Projected

Completion

date Lead

Resources needed

FY2021

(4/1/21 ‐

3/31/22)

Res

1. Meet traceability

performance

standards by

documenting and

recording TPMs

Qualifying actual traces will be recorded as a

TPM in EMRS2 during each reporting period

1 08/20/12 On going SS

No federal

resources

requested

A

fed

Trace exercises will be recorded as a TPM in

EMRS2 during each reporting period

1 08/20/12 On going SS

2. Continue use of

CoreOne as a

compatible system

The Board will continue to utilize CoreOne

by Trace First as the primary animal health

database

1 10/01/13 On going CA No federal

resources

requested

A

fed

3. Continue

outreach plan to

educate/assist

livestock dealers,

agents, producers,

veterinarians, and

other stakeholders

on ADT

Office staff will capture basic info on

dealers/agents in CoreOne. A subset will be

periodically selected. Field staff will be

assigned to visit those selected to increase

education regarding all aspects of

traceability

1 02/01/18 On going SS

$62,257

D

fed

Office and field staff will monitor for and

enforce ID compliance at livestock

concentration points, including auction

markets, sales, and exhibitions

1 04/01/14 On going SS,

BH,CW

4. Increase the

availability of

electronic records

for cattle and bison

to assist with animal

disease traceability

efforts

Official ID numbers and CVIs for cattle will

be captured in the Board’s database (official

ID) & scanned, indexed, and organized

electronically (CVIs)

1 <10/01/11 12/31/18 SS

$76,007

D

fed

All CVIs with a MN origin/destination will be

archived in CVI Central. Individual animal

information including official ID numbers will

be captured for all officially identified cattle

1 01/01/19 On going SS

Official ID numbers of cattle tested for TB,

BR or other program diseases will be

captured in CoreOne

1 <10/01/11 On going SS

The Board will work to increase the use of

electronic forms by accredited veterinarians

1 <01/01/17 On going SS
  

       

       

                                        

                                        

   

                                                  

       

Appendix 2

ADT DETAILED FINANCIAL PLAN

RECIPIENT NAME: MN Board of Animal Health

TIME PERIOD: April 1, 2021 - March 31, 2022

This Financial Plan must match the SF‐424‐A, Section B – Budget Categories. Funding requested under the budget categories must be

described in detail within the narrative. If budget modifications are approved applicants must submit a revised ADT budget template with

their final report.

To insert additional rows in a budget category click on the last row in the respective category then right click your mouse and select insert.

Insert additional rows as needed.

Cost Category Item Description Rate APHIS Share Total Budget 

Personnel ADT (General) FTE Salary - see attached Financial Analysis for detail 53389 $53,389.00 

ADT Data Entry FTE Salary - see attached Financial Analysis for detail 34903 $34,903.00 

Personnel Subtotal $88,292.00 

Fringe ADT (General) FTE Fringe @ 40% 21356 $21,356.00 

ADT Data Entry FTE Fringe @ 40% 13961 $13,961.00 

Fringe Subtotal $35,317.00 

Travel 

In state travel 24% FTE field staff multiplied by annual car lease of 

$8500 2040 $2,040.00 

Travel Subtotal $2,040.00 

Equipment 

Equipment Subtotal $0.00 

Supplies - IT 

Hardware 

Supplies - Tags 

Supplies- RFID 

Readers 

Supplies -

Other 

Supplies Subtotal $0.00 

Contractual -

IT Systems 

Contractual -

Other 

Contractual Subtotal $0.00 

Other 

Other Subtotal $0.00 

Totals 

TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $125,649.00 

INDIRECT COSTS Applied to all direct costs 10.04% 10.04% $12,615.00 

TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $138,264.00 

Less Cooperator Share $0.00 

APHIS Cost Share $138,264.00 

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Appendix 3

MN 2021 Traceabilty Financial Plan Analysis 

Indirect cost 10.040% 

Total by 

Trace objective Direct costs Indirect cost Objective 

Education/Outreach $56,576 $5,680 $62,257 

Electronic ID capture $69,072 $6,935 $76,007 

Total $125,649 $12,615 $138,264 

Education/Outreach 

Position salary w/o fringe % time Amount Hours 

Ag Advisor $73,581 13% $9,566 270.4 

Ag Consultant $73,497 4% $2,940 83.2 

District Vet $90,375 7% $6,326 145.6 

State Pgm Administrator $63,511 13% $8,256 270.4 

Vet Senior $118,664 10% $11,866 208 

Total Salary $38,955 

Fringe (40%) $15,582 

Travel (in-state) $2,040 

Total education/outreach Direct costs $56,576 

Indirect Costs (10.04%) $5,680 

Total education/outreach $62,257 

Electronic ID capture 

Position salary w/o fringe % time Amount Hours 

Office & Admin Spec. $40,339 47% $18,959 977.6 

Office & Admin Spec. Int. $44,677 35% $15,637 728 

State Pgm Administrator $63,511 12% $7,621 249.6 

Vet Senior $118,664 6% $7,120 124.8 

Total salary $49,337 

Fringe (40%) $19,735 

Total Electronic ID capture direct costs $69,072 

Indirect Costs (10.04%) $6,935 

$76,007 

GRAND TOTAL $138,264 

23