BIXS Overview

Canadian beef producers have long understood the potential in capturing, exchanging and tracking the specific individual animal data and information made possible through the national animal ID program. The Beef InfoXchange System, or BIXS, leverages that data to benefit producers by improving communications and individual animal information sharing across the entire beef chain.

BIXS is a national voluntary web-based database designed to capture and exchange data linked to an individual animal’s unique electronic ID tag number, known as the CCIA (Canadian Cattle Identification Agency) tag or RFID (radio frequency identification) tag.

BIXS is a tool to assist in the gathering, tracking and exchanging of useful individual animal information across the beef chain. The system enables participants to communicate, build business opportunities and hone marketing programs based on accurate and reliable individual animal data.

BIXS’ search function maintains cow-calf producer confidentiality yet empowers the system so beef supply chain participants can source cattle on specification.

The ability to track and share relevant animal production, performance, health, genetic and carcass data will help improve efficiencies at the ranch, feedlot and processing levels. It will also lead to more precise targeting of beef for specific domestic and international market prospects, and increase the overall quality of beef nation-wide.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) spearheaded the development of BIXS as part of the Canadian Beef Advantage (CBA) program, the branding of Canadian beef for domestic and international markets.

The BIXS is now in the pre-launch pilot phase having completed thorough cow-calf producer testing and evaluation on a national basis. Program launch across Canada is scheduled for late September 2010. The system will be designed to work efficiently at high speed and for dial-up users with reliable and higher connective speeds. During the early launch period those users on slow dial-up will be urged to access BIXS through a third party they authorize (third party authorization forms will be downloadable from the main page of this website).

Interested producers can register and log on to the BIXS database program via the BIXS website. Links are also provided on websites of organizations partnering with BIXS, like Pfizer Animal Health’s Pfizer Gold Program, Beef Improvement Opportunities, BeefBooster among others.

BIXS will also platform or partner on an information sharing basis with other industry participants including veterinary pharmaceutical firms, veterinarians, IT firms and more. As these agreements are completed BIXS will provide links to these partners on the BIXS main web site.