May 17, 2021
JBS to Track Cattle from Direct and Indirect Suppliers
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The company JBS initiated in April its Transparent Livestock Platform (Plataforma Pecuaria Transparente) that utilizes blockchain technologies to track direct and indirect suppliers of cattle to the company with the goal of zero illegal deforestation by its suppliers.
The company already monitors 100% of its direct suppliers of cattle and now the emphasis is on the indirect suppliers. These indirect suppliers can be cow-calf operations or ranchers who supply cattle to feedlots for finishing before slaughter. This will allow JBS to have visibility of the cattle from birth to when they are delivered to the company.
Factors that the company will monitor for its direct and indirect suppliers include: any illegal deforestation in respect to Brazil's Forestry Code, invasion of indigenous lands or conservation areas, or the use of lands embargoed by Ibama (the Brazilian Environmental Protection Agency).
The company announced its monitoring program in September of last year with the goal of tracking all the cattle supplied either directly or indirectly to the company by 2025. The long term goal is to have zero illegal deforestation by company suppliers in the Amazon Biome and other biomes by 2030.
In an effort to help monitor especially the indirect suppliers, JBS has also installed 13 "Green Offices" (Escritorios Verdes) throughout its draw area. There are 7 offices in the state of Mato Grosso, 2 in Para, 2 in Rondonia, 1 in Goias, and 1 in Mato Grosso do Sul.
The monitoring data will be validated by the Agri Trace Rastreabilidade Animal (Animal Traceability System) of the Agriculture and Livestock Confederation of Brazil (CNA).