Shared Visibility of Data Provides Value to Everybody,
says NIAA Annual Conference Speaker David McCarty

NIAA News Release, February 19, 2019---The National Institute for Animal Agriculture has chosen the theme Animal Agriculture; Innovation & Technology; Engaging the Consumers for its 2019 Annual Conference April 9-11^th in Des Moines, Iowa.

One of the greatest challenges facing agriculture is improving the consumer’s perception of it. Another is communicating how innovation and technology are constantly being developed to help animal agriculture improve animal health, welfare, sustainability, traceability and more.

Blockchain technology may be where the two concepts converge. It’s a leading-edge, innovative technology which is revolutionizing how the food supply chain can be tracked from farm or ranch to processing to distribution to the consumer’s table. It may also provide a transparency in agriculture which can give consumers a new level of authenticity on where their food comes from.

With 30 years of working in technology targeting the needs of retailers and consumers, NIAA Annual Conference Speaker David E. McCarty, Consumer Products Industry Executive Consultant with IBM™ says that the demand drivers of today’s consumer are very different.

“Consumers want to know is it local?  Is it sustainably raised? How was it treated? The authenticity of that information has to be something they can trust,” says McCarty. “The question is how do we leverage technology to transfer this data in a traceable way so today’s consumer knows that what they buy is aligned with their social mores.”

Part of what makes Blockchain special, according to McCarty, is that the data is immutable. Once entered, it can’t be changed. “You know it is accurate because it can’t be tampered with,” says McCarty. “Combine that with certifications from standard regulatory bodies and we have the recipe for a trusted relationship with the end consumer.”

“Consumers are driving the value of knowing more about the products they want, and they vote with their wallet,” says McCarty. “We are seeing fundamental shifts in what they purchase. With alternative meat products and other disruptions coming into the marketplace, it is important to establish that trust.”

Blockchain technology has been applied to many business problems for which it has not been ideally suited. But McCarty sees the use of it in the case of animal agriculture as the perfect fit. “In this case, Blockchain is the right solution to animal ag traceability and transparency,” he says. “You have lack of trust, lack of visibility, and inefficiencies between diverse parts of the supply chain, all of which lend themselves well to a Blockchain solution.”

To read the entire press release click HERE

For the agenda, please go HERE. To register go HERE. For hotel information, go HERE.

One Health — A Common Language

Click here to watch the full 3:09 video

Why so much gets lost in translation between consumers and animal health –and how one company fosters the

conversation.

Antibiotics use, food safety and sustainability. All are important to consumers, and all relate to animal welfare.

Dr. Judson Vasconcelos, head of Merck Animal Health Veterinary and Consumer Affairs, says farmers and

ranchers increasingly receive questions about these topics and how food animals are raised. That’s not surprising,

as less than two percent of the nation’s population is employed in agriculture.

“One of the things we’ve noticed is that we don’t really have a common language or different tools that can help

them to have that conversation that helps them explain what they do,” Vasconcelos says. “There’s a lot of

information out there, and it’s confusing.” That’s why Merck Animal Health developed important resources for

both producers and consumers, to help translate production practices. A key point of information: antibiotics use.

Click here for the full press release