Join the Movement
There’s never been a better time to join the traceability movement

What is DairyTrace?

We’re glad you asked. DairyTrace is Canada’s dairy cattle traceability program. We’re your one-stop-shop for reporting traceability events and accessing resources to make it easy.

DairyTrace is designed for all partners of the dairy cattle value chain, including but not limited to, veal farms, auction marts, assembly yards, fairs, veterinary clinics and abattoirs.

The DairyTrace Portal and Mobile App are some of the user-friendly platforms that makes it easy to report all your traceability events. Our software can also connect to different management software via an API compatibility (Application Programming Interface). Our friendly, knowledgeable Customer Services team is available to help you get started with DairyTrace and answer your questions.

Stay tuned for more reporting options!

Protecting participants of the dairy cattle traceability and value chain is more important than ever before.

Who should be part of DairyTrace?

Any person who houses livestock, even on a temporary basis, is encouraged to report traceability events for animals with dairy tags to DairyTrace. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Farms
  • Abattoirs / Rendering plants
  • Exhibitions / Fairgrounds
  • Auctions / Livestock facilities
  • Assembly yards / Pastures / Feedlots
  • Veterinary hospitals

All regulated parties that report federal events for both CCIA and DairyTrace tags, are required to have an account in both databases. There are reporting processes and tools available to assist with reporting to two locations.

Contact Customer Services to find out your best reporting option and to set up your DairyTrace account.

Livestock Identification & Traceability: Part XV Health of Animals Regulations

Over 1.2 million events have been reported to DairyTrace annually.

Why DairyTrace & why now?

Our industry has seen the impact of livestock disease, here in Canada and elsewhere. We’re now seeing the impact of diseases never expected to affect dairy cattle, highlighting the necessity of a traceability system like DairyTrace to protect our industry.

In the event of a disease outbreak, having complete traceability data from all cattle born on dairy farms helps enable a quick, effective, regional/national response, mitigating the impact to the whole industry.

That’s why it’s so important for everyone involved with the dairy value chain to participate in traceability and report movements of dairy cattle. The ability to identify affected sites and animals through the DairyTrace system can help prevent further disease spread and protect healthy livestock.

Visit the Why Traceability? page for producer testimonials and more.

“Traceability is the process of following an item or a group of items – be it animal, plant, food product or ingredient – from one point in the supply chain to another, either backwards or forwards,” – CFIA.

Getting started with DairyTrace

  1. Obtain your Premises Identification Number (PID)
  2. Set up your DairyTrace Account
  3. Report traceability events

The first step is obtaining your premises identification number (PID). A premises is a location site on which animals are kept, moved through, or disposed of.

Once you have your premises ID, you’re ready to activate an account in DairyTrace. Contact Customer Services at: 1-866-558-7223.

Scroll to the next section for information on how to report through the DairyTrace portal or check out the tools and resources on our website.

Visit CFIA’s website for information on how to register your premises.

Remember to share your PID in your DairyTrace account to help everyone easily report movement events.

Reporting in DairyTrace

Current requirements for value chain partners
Under Part XV of the Health of Animals Regulations it is required to report the following:

Animal Rendering, Death or Slaughter
Tag retirement must be reported within 30 days of the event. A tag retirement confirms that the animal bearing the unique identification number has died or been exported and no longer needs to remain active in the national traceability system.

Tag retirement confirms that the animal bearing the unique identification number has died or been exported and no longer needs to remain active in the national traceability system.

Export
When exporting an animal to a destination outside of Canada, the movement must be reported within 30 days. This includes the location/address where the animals were exported to and the vehicle/trailer license plate number.

Import
It is required to report imported animals from another country within 30 days. You will need the address from where the animal departed from and the vehicle/trailer license plate number, as imported animals will not have a recognized premise ID associated with the premises of origin in the other country.

Tag Cross-Reference
When an animal loses a tag, it must be replaced with another official tag and then reported. If an unknown animal is re-tagged with a NEW number, it is required to report the previous tag number and the new number.

Refer to the Health of Animals Regulations for more details on the federal regulated traceability reporting. Livestock identification and traceability – inspection.canada.ca

Reporting Requirements:

  • Tag retirement/death
  • Rendering
  • Cross-reference tagging (when previous tag number is known)
  • Import (enters Canada)
  • Export (leaves Canada)
  • Tag activation/birth
  • Tag replacement (previous tag number not known)
  • Cross-reference (previous tag number is known)
  • Move-in
  • Move-out (recommended)
  • Import (enters Canada)
  • Export (leaves Canada)
  • On-farm disposals

*Canadian dairy producers are required to follow federal and proAction traceability guidelines.  

Note: The province of Québec has additional provincial traceability reporting guidelines. Refer to Attestra for details:
Regulation – Attestra

Learn more about other partners involved in DairyTrace.

Ready to Report a Movement?

You’ve got options

1. Report a Movement through the DairyTrace Portal

2. Report a Movement through the Mobile App

3. Report a Movement to Customer Services

4. Download a paper form

5. Electronic Methods – Inquire on what options are available – email Customer Services

Using the DairyTrace portal to report a Move-in

Using the DairyTrace portal to report a Move-out

Data collected from DairyTrace can help protect our economy by preparing us for challenging times, as well as strengthening the reputation of the Canadian dairy sector and its products, here and around the world.

Voluntary event report types

Movement reporting best practices
It is highly recommended to report animal movement between two sites of different ownership (premises-to-premises) to DairyTrace.

Animal Move-in
Although currently voluntary for non-dairy farmers, it is strongly encouraged to report a move-in to DairyTrace when an animal arrives on a new premise from another premise located in Canada. This is already a requirement for dairy farmers to report within seven (7) days of arrival.

Animal Move-out
It is recommended best practice that the departing premises make note of any move-out events for their own internal records and report those events to DairyTrace.