Retinal image scanning

Jefferson County Fair Board member Mike Filson holds a steer?s eye open while his co-worker uses a digital camera to take a retinal image of the eye during the 4-H beef weigh-in Saturday morning at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The steer, named Smurff, belongs to Penn Workers 4-H Club member Kelly Lacey, who is watching in the background. The image is electronically sent to Ames as permanent identification of the steer. Like human fingerprints, the blood vessel pattern on each animal?s retina is distinct and never changes. The pattern resembles a tree trunk with lots of branches. The beef weigh-in process also included taking nose prints and pulling hair for DNA, which are identification methods required to show the animal at the Iowa State Fair or the Ak-Sar-Ben 4-H exhibition in Nebraska.