ILRIC, in partnership with Sirion Global, is developing the world's first real time GPS global satellite tracking/traceback system for livestock. The Sirion system (32 LEO satellites), has been in development over 7 years, and will offer affordable cutting edge GPS tracking and traceback, production and farm management capabilities at the press of a button. It will also offer a satellite chip with whole-of-life traceback and production storage capacity.
Governments and major livestock entities around the world are under pressure from both export markets and domestic consumers, to provide security for the whole supply chain via regulatory authority controls. Only with LEO satellite technology can any real time, effective tracking and traceback system offer the security and response times demanded. This technology, if required will allow the regulatory authority to complete a national audit within minutes. With the press of a button all stock can be monitored and restricted or
quarantined to specified zones - any movement across proscribed borders (either in or outward) would immediately generate reports to regulatory bodies and/or commercial entities.
The Sirion System and the elements of its Space, Ground, and User Segments, all employ proven technologies and techniques. The uniqueness of the Sirion solution is embodied in its hybrid, integrated design, and in its use of uniquely-held frequencies allocated to satellite tracking, telemetry, and telecommunications. The Sirion solution also addresses the issue of integration with existing terrestrial infrastructure by employing a tri-mode Terminal Unit with which each animal would be tagged. The design of these units would enable them – in the vast numbers required to support this and other applications – to communicate via: i) the proprietary Sirion Space Segment, ii) &/or through a purpose-built terrestrial infrastructure suitable for indoor and close-quarters telemetry (ie. Saleyards) and iii) hand-held and locally deployed RFID readers of a type already used in some parts of the world pursuant to existing legislation and regulations.
The Sirion Livestock Solution could be deployed in stages and in such a manner as to be affordable to the end-users, and would not unduly burden either the cattle and livestock industry, nor Government.
Major weaknesses of current RFID systems are that it’s entirely reliant on producer data input and also the timeframe taken to do a full traceback audit with data integrity being questionable. Viewing the impact of the US, Brazil's & Argentina's events and loss of export markets almost overnight, this timeframe will realistically be useless. Their combined BSE and FMD events have now been estimated to have cost +US$25bn – a cost borne by the world’s largest beef producers and consumers.
Effective, near real time GPS tracking/traceback is available, virtually at the press of a button. Satellite services will revolutionise the global livestock industry and ensure claims as ‘clean, green’ suppliers is verified, adding to consumer and government confidence.
The management of animal diseases is an issue of vital importance for all participants in the global livestock industry. A single FAD event can interrupt and halt trade for extended periods - potentially crippling an entire country’s livestock sector within a matter of weeks. The flow through impact on that country’s economy can be immense.
Although the current RFID system adopted by Australia had set the world standard and was the most appropriate technology at the time of introduction, it is limited and ineffective in
achieving its desired outcome. The technology is dated; inevitably cumbersome, extremely time consuming for producers and governments as well as expensive, with major inherent weakness including being solely reliant on producer and service provider data input. History shows that compliance with this type of system is difficult. In both the UK BSE and the recent Brazilian FMD events, producers did not conform with a self governance model of stock movements and the provision of the required data. Livestock movement restrictions in Brazil and neighbouring countries were not complied with (let alone enforced or measured), hence recent re-infection / outbreaks. The Sirion Solution will specifically address these critical weaknesses. The Sirion Solution, not relying on producer input, allows regular audits to be carried out literally ‘at the push of a button’; providing total traceback history of the national herd. In addition, the system can notify all stock movements across boundaries of a designated area or property, hence full traceback and continued GPS tracking.
GPS functionality within the system translates to effective and near immediate control: the current regulatory requirements are that a producer wishing to move stock from one location to another must first scan his cattle and provide the ID’s and movement information to the regulatory authority within 48 hours of the cattle arriving at its new location. This may seem to be a simple function but in fact is time consuming and expensive, particularly for larger herds, eg. if you wish to move say 300 head of cattle to better pasture on another property the producer would need to scan each beast. With the Sirion system a pen of 300 head can be recorded at a press of a button and within seconds. Our research showed that producers are moving cattle from property to property without scanning and notifying the regulatory authority. The Sirion system will automatically rectify the problem of unrecorded stock movement (ie. tracking & traceback). A producer moving livestock across proscribed boundaries (the GPS coordinates of their property) without the required
notification or a single animal wandering automatically generates an alert report by satellite readings, rather than being reliant on producer advice or knowledge. Any movement of tagged livestock across set boundaries, such as suspected infection sites, regions or states generates automatic records of each animal’s movement, instantly. Only satellite GPS technology can provide full tracking and more importantly, traceback and quarantine capability.
The real benefits however are not just the tracking and traceback audits. The system also effects containment (quarantine) from external contamination to ‘safe’ sites. In a hypothetical case, an FMD event on a single property would follow these steps:
- At the press of a button, the regulatory authority would, via GPS coordinates, quarantine that property for all livestock movement (in or out), or a larger area as defined by the authority – with boundary reporting sent to that authority
- The authority could – again, at the press of a button – within minutes generate an audit on a particular beast or herd and its historic movements, any animals it had been in contact with or that had visited common sites. Effective containment is achieved in a single day.
- Effected animals are then treated or destroyed and quarantined areas monitored. The outbreak site/area and quarantined region is therefore restricted and gradually and threat reduced and eliminated.
If the US had this system available, it can be argued that their BSE event would have been fully traced and contained; loss of export markets would not have been enacted, as supply could continue from demonstrated safe zones outside strictly defined and enforced quarantine areas.
