Just over a year ago I took on the job as President & Chief Executive Officer of BIXSco Inc., the company that manages Canada’s Beef InfoXchange System, or BIXS. Since then, the team I’ve led has focused on one big goal. We’ve worked hard to overcome the single biggest roadblock to industry-wide data sharing of cattle production information: access to carcass data. For those who may have wondered if such a thing were even possible, I’ve got great news: That roadblock is gone.
Earlier this year, BIXSco and Cargill Limited signed a formal agreement enabling cattle production information to be tracked through the supply chain.
To achieve this, Cargill has agreed to provide the last three years of carcass data, along with all future data, to BIXS in trust. This data will be invaluable in helping beef producers improve operating efficiency and profitability.
The big idea: selling and buying data
BIXS is similar to a stock market. It lets buyers and sellers exchange data for a price. Producers will be able to purchase carcass data, and sell their management data back to others.
As participation in BIXS grows, we’re busy rebuilding BIXS’ data management system to accommodate higher volumes of data, enabling more robust exchange of information up-and down-stream. All of the various fields that were used in the previous BIXS versions will be available.
As always, we will continue to ensure no personal information is shared through the system; users will remain anonymous until they choose to contact a source of information.
BIXS: Helping Canada set the world-wide standard for tracking
With the biggest industry influencers participating in BIXS, Canada is becoming well positioned to set the world-wide standard for supply chain beef carcass data and chain of custody.
The potential benefits to the entire supply chain, especially producers, are enormous—not least of which is our collective ability to communicate a consistently positive and credible message to domestic and foreign consumers about the high quality of Canadian beef. Chain of custody and transparency are two issues that the Canadian beef industry needs to be able to illustrate to our customers.
What are you waiting for?
I travel throughout the world and know that Canadian beef isn’t yet a worldwide name—and that’s a shame.
The timing is perfect to act now. Restaurants and retailers are already responding to consumer demand for more information about the history of their beef—and are expecting producers to be able to authenticate the sustainability of their practices.
Data sharing provides transparency in the sustainable practices and commitment Canadian produces have to provide the best quality beef. By helping to track those practices through the system, we can strengthen and protect the whole industry.
We haven’t even begun to understand how powerful data sharing can be for individual producers and the industry as a whole. That’s why we are inviting the entire industry to join us to help explore the possibilities.
Hubert Lau is President and CEO of BIXSco. The BIXS database includes information about individual animal and carcass data, management protocols, and health treatments. Signing up for BIXS is easy and free. For more information about unlocking the value of data and participating in BIXS, click here.
Earlier this year, BIXSco and Cargill Limited signed a formal agreement enabling cattle production information to be tracked through the supply chain.
To achieve this, Cargill has agreed to provide the last three years of carcass data, along with all future data, to BIXS in trust. This data will be invaluable in helping beef producers improve operating efficiency and profitability.
The big idea: selling and buying data
BIXS is similar to a stock market. It lets buyers and sellers exchange data for a price. Producers will be able to purchase carcass data, and sell their management data back to others.
As participation in BIXS grows, we’re busy rebuilding BIXS’ data management system to accommodate higher volumes of data, enabling more robust exchange of information up-and down-stream. All of the various fields that were used in the previous BIXS versions will be available.
As always, we will continue to ensure no personal information is shared through the system; users will remain anonymous until they choose to contact a source of information.
BIXS: Helping Canada set the world-wide standard for tracking
With the biggest industry influencers participating in BIXS, Canada is becoming well positioned to set the world-wide standard for supply chain beef carcass data and chain of custody.
The potential benefits to the entire supply chain, especially producers, are enormous—not least of which is our collective ability to communicate a consistently positive and credible message to domestic and foreign consumers about the high quality of Canadian beef. Chain of custody and transparency are two issues that the Canadian beef industry needs to be able to illustrate to our customers.
What are you waiting for?
I travel throughout the world and know that Canadian beef isn’t yet a worldwide name—and that’s a shame.
The timing is perfect to act now. Restaurants and retailers are already responding to consumer demand for more information about the history of their beef—and are expecting producers to be able to authenticate the sustainability of their practices.
Data sharing provides transparency in the sustainable practices and commitment Canadian produces have to provide the best quality beef. By helping to track those practices through the system, we can strengthen and protect the whole industry.
We haven’t even begun to understand how powerful data sharing can be for individual producers and the industry as a whole. That’s why we are inviting the entire industry to join us to help explore the possibilities.
Hubert Lau is President and CEO of BIXSco. The BIXS database includes information about individual animal and carcass data, management protocols, and health treatments. Signing up for BIXS is easy and free. For more information about unlocking the value of data and participating in BIXS, click here.
RSS Feed