Livestock Data · Traceability
The rules already require the data. Make it useful.
Electronic ID, movement records and registration deadlines exist in all three of Mule's countries. The same records that satisfy a regulator can price a calf, settle a dispute and support a program audit.
5 Nov 2024
Since this date, official ear tags for interstate movement of dairy cattle must be visually and electronically readable.
DAYS
Belgium: register a calf in Sanitel within 7 days of birth.
Source · FAVV / AFSCA · Sanitel · 2026
WORKING DAYS
The Netherlands: report a calf to RVO I&R within 3 working days.
Source · RVO, Identificatie en Registratie · 2026
01United States · 840
Every dairy calf that crosses a state line already has an EID.
Since 5 November 2024, official ear tags applied for interstate movement must be readable both visually and electronically. The rule covers all dairy cattle, beef-on-dairy of any age included, and intact beef cattle 18 months and older.
| Requirement | What it produces | What Mule does with it |
|---|---|---|
| 840 EID ear tag | A unique, electronically readable ID per animal | Keys the whole record to it, read by wand or panel reader |
| Interstate movement | A CVI or approved movement document | Attaches the document to every animal it covers |
| Tag records | Who applied which tag, where, when | Keeps the application on the animal, with the source herd |
| Disease events | Movement tests and herd status checks | Reports from the record instead of from paper |
02Belgium 056 · the Netherlands 528
Two tags, two deadlines, one record.
EU bovines carry two ear tags (Reg. (EU) 2019/2035); member states may allow an electronic identifier in place of one. EID is voluntary unless national rules require it. Registration deadlines are national and short.
| Country | Registry and deadline | Mule's role |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Sanitel, within 7 days of birth. FAVV / AFSCA oversight; DGZ in Flanders, ARSIA in Wallonia | Deadline on each calf; registrations prepared from the record (direct connection planned) |
| The Netherlands | RVO I&R, within 3 working days. NVWA oversight | Deadline on each calf; reports prepared from the record (direct connection planned) |
| Cross-border | TRACES certificates for intra-EU movement | Certificate kept on every animal it covers |
2.13MBOVINES
Belgium, down 5.3% in two years; 522,600 dairy and 330,600 suckler cows.
Source · Eurostat · Dec 2025
3.55MBOVINES
The Netherlands, with 1.51M dairy cows, about 5% fewer than December 2023.
Source · Eurostat · May/Jun 2026
03The chain of custody
Traceability is the whole chain, read in order.
The ID is read first and proved last. Every step in between adds to the same record.
- 01 · READTag readThe calf's EID is scanned at the dairy, with source and sire.EIDsire
- 02 · PENIntakeArrival counted against the manifest, graded, weighed.countgrade
- 03 · CAREHealthTreatments with drug, dose and withdrawal date.treatmentADG
- 04 · LOADLoadHead loaded, papers attached, the 28-hour clock starts.BOLCVI
- 05 · HAULHaulArrival times for both yards, route, time on truck.ETAtrail
- 06 · PROVEDelivery to railSigned count at the gate; closeout and carcass back on the calf.signaturegrid
04Verification programs
Records that support the audit.
Age, source and process programs pay a premium for documentation. Mule keeps the records an auditor asks for. The verification itself comes from the program, never from Mule.
$1-4/CWT
Premium reported for age- and source-verified calves. Requires an audited USDA program.
Source · Beef Magazine · UC Davis · 2024
- Birth date and source herd, kept from the first record
- Every movement and every owner, with documents
- Treatment and withdrawal history
- An export in the layout the auditor uses
05Data rights
Who may see what.
Off by default
No buyer, packer, program or partner sees a record until you grant it, per party and per purpose.
Scoped sharing
Share one lot's history with one buyer without opening the rest of the herd.
Logged
Every share and export is recorded with who, what and when.
Exports anytime
Your full dataset in open formats, free, whenever you ask.
FAQ
Questions
Is Mule an official identification or registration system?
No. Official ID devices and national registries stay what they are: APHIS-approved tags and state animal health officials in the US, Sanitel in Belgium, RVO I&R in the Netherlands. Mule reads the official IDs, keeps the record around them, and prepares the reports and filings you make to those systems.
Can Mule file registrations to Sanitel or I&R for us?
Direct connections to Sanitel and RVO I&R are planned. Today Mule prepares registrations and movements from the record so filing is a check and a submit, not retyping, and keeps the deadline visible on each animal.
Does a record from Mule make our cattle age and source verified?
No. Verification comes from an audited USDA program. Mule keeps the records those programs and their auditors ask for, so the audit is easier. It never labels an animal as verified.
Who can see our traceability data?
Only the parties you choose. Sharing is off by default, per buyer, per program and per vet, and every export is logged.
What about animals that cross from Europe or between states?
Movements keep both ends: origin, destination, documents and the official IDs at each, so a CVI in the US or a TRACES certificate in the EU sits on the animals it covers.
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