ATTACHMENT_2_-_SPECIFICATIONS_FOR_METAL_ALPHANUMERIC_SERIAL_ _FLOCK_IDPREMISE_EAR_TAGS.docx

ATTACHMENT TWO (2) - SPECIFICATIONS FOR METAL ALPHANUMERIC SERIAL AND FLOCK ID/PREMISE EAR TAGS

1. General:

For clarity, the following codes will be used to identify the side of the tag being described:

Side 1 – Flat Surface Side 2 – Flat surface with dimple for lock Side 3 – Self-piercing tip

The Contractor shall supply data supporting the durability and legibility of the identification numbers and retention rates of the tags in sheep and goats. Tags shall have excellent retention and legibility rates in sheep and goats throughout their lives and must minimize injury to the ear. Data meeting the following requirements is desirable for evaluating tag retention, durability and legibility:

· At least 100 lambs and/or kids tagged at 8 weeks or less of age with the test tag and the current metal tag provided free by APHIS in the opposite ear should be evaluated at least 90 days after application.

· An accredited veterinarian or other third party acceptable to APHIS should observe the application of the tags with the type of applicator provided for use with the tags and record the type of tags and applicator used, the ages and types of animals used, the numbers on the tags applied to each animal, and any problems with the application of the tags including any difficulties in applying the tags, using the applicator or if there is an unusual amount of discomfort to the animal during or after application.

· The accredited veterinarian or other third party acceptable to APHIS should observe the tags at least 90 days after application and record any tags that are lost or damaged, the number of ears disfigured or infected and the severity, the legibility of the tags including fading, and any other issues observed that may affect the utility of the tags or applicator.

· This data must be provided with the application and must be signed by the accredited veterinarian or other acceptable third party.

If such data is not available other types of retention data and/or evidence of long term successful use in sheep/goats may be considered in evaluating retention; however, to be considered responsive it must provide evidence of an acceptable level of retention as determined by APHIS.

Tag and applicators currently under contract for use in the scrapie program are considered to have met the minimum requirements for retention data submission based on the previous evaluation; however, such companies if submitting an offer for this solicitation should submit any retention data subsequently obtained. Supporting data must also include, if available, evidence of long term successful use in sheep and/or goats such as number sold by year and history of complaints regarding quality. Preference may be given to tags for which successful long term use in sheep and goats can be demonstrated or for which long term retention data demonstrating a high level of retention is provided. Offerors must submit any data they have that shows poorer performance of the eartag or applicator than the data submitted.

Tags must be an appropriate size and weight for use in sheep and goats of all ages. The Contractor shall agree to (a) only send official eartags to either a State or APHIS representative or to a flock owner at the address to which the tag sequence was assigned by a State or APHIS representative, as directed by APHIS; (b) when requested provide a monthly report of all tags produced and sent to a State including the tag sequences produced and the address to which the tags were shipped; (c) use only the letter and/or number sequences designated by APHIS on official tags; (d) use the Government shield only on official tags; (e) maintain the confidentiality of all information provided by APHIS or accessed through the APHIS website; and (f) report the total cost of the contract by month, by date of order, within one week of the end of the month and by week when requested. Tag order information will be entered by the tag company through an APHIS web page into an APHIS database. The current web application is the Animal Identification Management System.

Tags shall not be readily removable and once removed not easily placed on another animal and shall be tamper evident or resistant.

Tags shall be readily distinguishable as USDA Official sheep tags and incorporate a unique copyrighted logo or trademark to identify the supplier and to discourage counterfeiting.

If tags do not demonstrate adequate retention, legibility, and durability in field use, or if any of these requirements or the requirements to remain an approved scrapie program tag manufacturer or AIN manager are not met by the Contractor, the contract may be terminated.

Tags will be shipped to the addresses provided through the AIMS web page or as directed by APHIS as specified in the delivery order. The minimum delivery order will be 100 tags or 1 applicator. Tags must be shipped within 10 business days of receipt of the order in AIMS. Shipping method must on average result in delivery within 15 business days of receipt of the order in AIMS within the continental US. The information in AIMS must accurately reflect the tags shipped. Tags may not be shipped until they are shown as fulfilled in AIMS. Note: this process should be completed before tag manufacture to validate that the numbers have not been previously issued. Any tag wastage occurring as a result of not following this guidance will not be compensated.

Offerors may request an exception to the manufacturing specifications listed below (such as the use of aluminum) for eartags that have a well-established and well documented history of successful long term use in sheep and goats.

2. Metal and Paint Specifications:

The eartag shall be made of SAE 1008 nickel-zinc plated steel with a minimum coating thickness per side of 0.0002 inches with a plain finish or stainless steel. The thickness of the metal shall be a minimum of 0.030 inches. Manufacturer shall provide a certified statement regarding the type of metal, coating, and the type of paint to be used and documentation of third party evaluation certifying that the metal provides a minimum 75 hours of protection in a salt spray test against red dust as per ASTM-Bb117 Specifications. Metal tags must be free of lead.

The steel shall not break or crack upon closure of the eartag. The tags shall have a number 5 slit edge with no burrs to prevent cutting or chafing of the applicator’s fingers or irritation to the animal’s ear. The width of the tag shall be a minimum of 5/16 of an inch. The end of side 2 shall be rounded, not squared. The edges of the tag shall be parallel to each other.

Sheep program identification serial tags, flock/premises ID tags shall be painted with baked-on enamel or plastic coat of pure white. Serial tags may also be ordered in the following formats and colors:

· Reactor tag shall be painted with baked-on enamel or plastic coat of pure red;

· Restricted animal tag shall be painted with baked-on enamel or plastic coat of pure yellow.

· Slaughter only tag shall be painted with baked-on enamel or plastic coat of pure medium blue.

The paint shall not contain lead. The paint shall not mar during the application process.

3. Closure Specifications:

The tags shall be of self-piercing and self-locking tamper evident or resistant design. The tag shall have a sharpened rib embossed tip (side 3) that will penetrate the animal’s ear during the process of closing. Side 3 shall lock/curl under the slit or bar on side 2 and shall not protrude more than 1/32 of an inch above the inside surface plane of side 2 after locking. The inside dimension height of the tag after closure shall be 1/4 to 5/16 of an inch at the locking end when measured at 90 degrees to the lock bar. The inside dimension length of the tag after closure shall be 15/16 to 1 1/4 inches. Side 1 shall not bend upon closure.

4. Quality Control:

The contractor shall adhere to their quality control plan.

After a contract is awarded, the successful Contractor shall provide a monthly report that shows the number of quality checks performed, when they were performed, and identify tags that were reworked or rejected. Contractor will also maintain a record of product returned and all complaints regarding tags provided under the contract and provide a monthly report of all such complaints. Contractor will also immediately report any misprinted tags or defective tags or applicators that were shipped and any incorrectly shipped tags.

5. Packaging Specification:

Tags shall be packaged such that the tag numbers are maintained in sequential order. Tag order must be maintained during normal handling; for example, tags packaged on sticks must not fall off if the stick is inverted or dropped.

The contractor must include tag use and application instructions provided by APHIS with each tag order.

FLOCK ID OR PREMISES ID SPECIFICATIONS FOR METAL TAGS

1. Stamping Specifications:

The flock ID /premises tags shall be stamped with up to an 8 character alphanumeric flock ID or premise number and up to a 6 character alphanumeric serial number, and shall be consecutively numbered as indicated on individual delivery orders issued against this contract. These are unique numbers and shall not be duplicated. The numbers and letters are assigned by APHIS or the State, and they will change from delivery order to delivery order. On premises tags, up to 8 characters comprising the premises code will be stamped on the outer flat surface of Side 2; up to a 6 character serial identification number shall be stamped on the outer surface of Side 1 between the radius of the curvature of the line (Side 3) and the radius of the curvature between Side 1 and Side 2.

All characters embedded (stamped) into the metal shall be aligned on the same plane with the top and bottom edges of the characters being parallel with each other, i.e., AB1234. The edge of the characters shall be at least 1/16 of an inch from the slit edge of Side 1.

All characters shall be Helvetica bold, 10 point, very large font lettering style. All characters are embedded (stamped) 0.25mm +/- 0.01mm into the metal. All characters shall be 2/16 to 3/16 of an inch high and a minimum of 7 characters per linear inch (7 characters per 1 inch.) There shall be a minimum of 0.04 of an inch space between characters.

On the outer surface of all tags, the letters U.S. shall be enclosed in the Government shield, which shall be stamped to the left of the number on side 1 or 2 as show below:

“US” PC123456

ALPHANUMERIC SERIAL - SPECIFICATIONS FOR METAL TAGS

1. Stamping Specifications:

The tags shall be stamped with an alphanumeric 8 character serial number and be consecutively numbered, as indicated on individual delivery orders issued against this contract. These are unique numbers and shall not be duplicated. The numbers and letters are assigned by State, and they will change from delivery order to delivery order. All 8 characters of the serial identification number shall be stamped on the outer surface of Side 1, between the radius of the curvature of the line (Side 3) and the radius of the curvature between Side 1 and Side 2.

All characters embedded (stamped) into the metal shall be aligned on the same plane with the top and bottom edges of the characters being parallel with each other or the first four characters may be one 1/32 of an inch smaller. The edge of the characters shall be at least 1/16 of an inch from the slit edge of Side 1.

All characters shall be Helvetica bold, 10 point, very large font lettering style. All characters are embedded (stamped) 0.25mm +1- 0.01mm into the metal. All characters shall be 2/16 to 3/16 of an inch high and a minimum of 8 characters per linear inch (8 characters per 1 inch.) There shall be a minimum of 0.04 of an inch space between characters.

On the outer surface of all tags, the letters U.S. shall be enclosed in the Government shield in addition to the legends specified in the Offer Schedule. For the Reactor tags, the word SCRAPIE shall be stamped in characters at least 2/16 of an inch high and shall be located on the outer surface of Side 2. These characters may be Helvetica 10 point, very large font, condensed. The U.S. and State Postal Codes (PC) shall be stamped in characters 1/8 of an inch on the outer surface of Side 2 and are positioned as shown below:

US PC

SCRAPIE

Example: For Arizona the tag would read:

US AZ

SCRAPIE

For restricted animal tags, the letters SCR followed an R shall be embedded in characters at least 1/8 of an inch and shall be located immediately below or to the right the U.S. shield and State Postal Codes (PC) on the outer surface of Side 2. These characters may be Helvetica 10 point, very large font, condensed positioned, as shown below:

US SCR R

For slaughter only tags, the letters MEAT shall be embedded in characters at least 1/8 of an inch and shall be located immediately below or to the right of the U.S. shield on the outer surface of Side 2. These characters may be Helvetica 10 point, very large font, condensed positioned, as shown below:

US MEAT

Attachment Two – Metal Tag Specifications Page 1 of 5 1/13/2014