Who We Are
working collectively to protect farmers, dairy herds, consumers and the Canadian dairy industry
DairyTrace is a national animal traceability program administered by Lactanet Canada in partnership with Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC). Alongside DFC’s proAction® initiative, DairyTrace provides protection, prosperity and peace of mind to the Canadian dairy industry and its customers.
What is DairyTrace?
For the protection of animal health, public health and food safety, data is collected within the DairyTrace system and stored for emergency management, as well as other industry value‐added purposes. This information is required by the Federal Government as Part XV of the Health of Animals Regulations of dairy bovine animals in Canada under the direction of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
Funding for the development of the DairyTrace program was initially supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) via Growing Forward 2 and is currently funded from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) program.
About Lactanet
Lactanet Canada (www.lactanet.ca) provides dairy producers with innovative herd management products and services to maximize their productivity and profitability.
Lactanet offers a wide range of options for milk recording, herd management, diagnostic lab testing, traceability, genetics, and breeding to deliver quality milk and to strengthen the productive life of the herd.
The world-renowned data stewardship and state-of-the-art knowledge and research center at Lactanet empowers dairy producers to make informed decisions for sustainability, growth, and competitiveness.
Canadian Network for Dairy Excellence
Lactanet’s Vision
The premier source of information and innovative solutions for dairy farmers and industry partners.
Lactanet’s Mission
The leading provider of herd management solutions and knowledge to support the development of a prosperous and sustainable Canadian dairy industry.
Lactanet Core Values
Innovation
We drive innovation and promote new opportunities to support the development of the dairy industry. We are leading edge. We have the organizational ability to rapidly adapt to change.
Excellence
We are the best at what we do and we strive to do it right the first time. We aim to reach the highest standards of quality for our products, services and processes. Excellence is a source of pride and credibility.
Integrity
Our word is our bond. We do what we say. We are professional and live up to the highest standards of fairness, respect, governance and ethical behaviour.
Expertise
We develop and share knowledge, insight and perspective for the benefit of dairy producers and our industry.
Commitment
We exceed our clients’ expectations. We are driven by passion and persistence. We are committed to acting in the best interest of the dairy industry.
Lactanet is a not-for-profit organization with nine elected/appointed Board of Directors who are all licensed dairy producers in Canada. This governance structure helps guide Lactanet in achieving its vision and mission.
The Lactanet Board of Directors has established a DairyTrace Advisory Committee that includes producers, representatives and experts from various dairy industry organizations.
With traceability being part of the six key modules within proAction®, Dairy Farmers of Canada has both a proAction® Committee and a Traceability Technical Committee that are linked to the DairyTrace program.
Since the late 1990s, agricultural crisis such as mad cow, scrapie, the Avian flu, and foot-and-mouth disease brought attention to devise a system that would quickly safeguard public health, animal welfare and our economy.
1997 – Canadian Quality Milk (CQM) program development started by Dairy Farmers of Canada.
1998 – Introduction of a voluntary multi-species National Livestock Identification for Dairy (NLID) program with barcodes on animal tags.
2001 – Ear tag cattle identification (ID) is mandatory under federal regulation.
2003 – Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) animal ID tags change with ISO 3166 numbering system.
2010 – Improvements to tag quality, standards, cost, and distribution enhances the program.
2015 – 99% of registered dairy farms are part of Canadian Quality Milk (CQM) program and Dairy Farmers of Canada launches proAction®.
2017 – Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) qualifies to become the national responsible administrator for dairy cattle traceability.
2019 – Lactanet Canada is formed from the partnership of Canadian Dairy Network (CDN), CanWest DHI and Valacta.
2020 – Lactanet Canada is granted official status by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as the national responsible administrator for dairy bovine animals in Canada and launches DairyTrace – the national dairy cattle traceability program.
The current tag system is cost-effective and ultimately, it works. As technology progresses perhaps animal ID will evolve and it could potentially include facial recognition and artificial intelligence for longer read range, group reading capabilities, and lower costs.
Discover Lactanet
Lactanet is a farmer-run organization bringing herd management solutions, genetics and expertise to Canadian dairy producers from coast-to-coast.