The US cattle industry is moving to blockchain technology. CattleProof’s “Verified” decentralized cow verification service has been approved, giving it the historic title of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s first blockchain-based Process Verification Program (PVP). CattleProof is a Wyoming company that uses distributed ledger technology to store individual cow data.
Blockchain for livestock verification
Electronic tags attached to each animal provide a combination of data that records the animal’s condition, location and many other attributes, which are then stored immutable on blockchain. This change dramatically facilitates traceability through farm-to-fork traceability, also enabling farmers to see animal health in real time, allowing for better care and monitoring of cattle.
One large step towards regulation
USDA’s PVP service could enable companies such as CattleProof setting the standard in regulatory requirements while driving innovation in solving cattle challenges. This would enable companies such as CattleProof to create a set of voluntary standards that would be subject to government review, thus creating the first decentralized cattle monitoring network.
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This fits into a broader pattern in the agricultural industry, where industry participants increasingly see technology as a way to comply with regulatory requirements while improving the efficiency and transparency of their operations.
CattleProof: A unique solution
What makes CattleProof unique is that it is a USDA-approved blockchain PVP system. Services include obtaining certification “Born in the USA” as well as digital certificates with links back directly to the animals in question. The company is also integrated with Heartland Payments, which allows for direct transactions with verified cattle.
This is achieved by enabling buyers to verify the authenticity of their farm animals and ultimately increasing consumer confidence in meat product transactions. Moreover, the system allows farmers to offer something unique in their products, and in a competitive market, traceability and ethical consumer sourcing can give them a competitive advantage.
The approval is also evidence that farm adoption of blockchain technology is gaining momentum. The recent proposal by the USDA to amend organic regulations to establish traceable supply lines further contributes to this raise.
As blockchain continues to gain popularity in agriculture, it is poised to transform the agricultural industry in ways that include increased security, reduced fraud, and improved supply chain efficiency. This success could herald the opening of various programs to similar initiatives in other sectors, strengthening the role that technology will play in newfangled agricultural practices.
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