After 18 years, changes coming to cattle traceability
The National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII), the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) and the National Meat Institute (INAC) signed an agreement on Monday to foster innovative projects that provide technological solutions for identifying, monitoring and managing cattle by means of individual ID devices.
The upgrade of the traceability system will be financed through a sectoral competitive fund called the “Animal Traceability Challenge”, designed to back projects that enhance the ministry run traceability scheme. The launch was attended by minister Alfredo Fratti; ANII president Alvaro Brunini; INAC president Gastón Scayola; and INIA president Miguel Sierra.
The call seeks prototypes that offer better tools for disease control campaigns, security frameworks and other key MGAP policies such as combating rustling. Planned features include georeferencing, movement detection, tamper alerts for ear tags through technologies that allow constant, precise monitoring, plus automated, optimized management.
Private companies, alone or alongside R&D organizations, may submit solutions for cattle identification, monitoring and management with individual ID devices. Funding of up to UYU 5 million per project (around US$ 120,000) —covering 100 % of the budget—will be available for a maximum of two projects. Each must be completed within a year and validated at least at one INIA experimental station. Applications open Monday 12 May and close Tuesday 1 July 2025. INAC will contribute US$ 150,000 and INIA another US$ 150,000 in this first testing stage.
Minister Fratti said that just as banking systems need updating, so too must Uruguay’s traceability scheme because it is “not infallible”, though he stressed it currently shows “no vulnerabilities”. “This is the next step for traceability,” he noted. “Georeferencing is now essential for all sanitary matters and for the guarantees we must provide for our export products.”
He added that Uruguay’s ambition to be a “boutique meat supplier” to the world leaves no choice but to raise standards and “increase reliability through genetic development”. He denied that the initiative stemmed from the livestock fund scandals (Conexión Ganadera, República Ganadera and Grupo Larrarte), calling them “parallel paths”.
INIA president Sierra recalled that since 2006 Uruguay has been the only country in the world with 100 % of its herd individually traced. “In 18 years, science, technology and innovation have changed a lot, and Uruguay must stay at the cutting edge by incorporating new developments,” he said. Prototypes will be tested for a year at INIA stations so that the new system can be rolled out during 2026. It is not yet clear whether the current ear tag system will change, as new functions might work with—or be compatible with—existing devices. Companies from Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and elsewhere have shown interest.
