The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) closed the comment period on Oct. 5 regarding a proposal for radio frequency identification (RFID) as the official eartag used as identification in the interstate transport of cattle and bison.
Both the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) and the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) submitted comments raising issues with their use.
R-CALF USA requested APHIS withdraw the proposal, set to take effect in January 2023, on the premise it does not give the flexibility to use a lower-cost tag, such as metal eartags. The group claimed it violates current rules the agency established, resulting in producers incurring higher costs due to producers having to ship their livestock out of state because of a lack of a state processing facility.
USCA stated in their letter that producer information should only be available to state and federal officials for disease tracking and not for private individuals. USCA also raised the issue of the cost of the tags and requested APHIS use “ultra-high frequency (UHF) technology over low-frequency technology for meeting the goals of animal disease traceability.”
APHIS will review the comments received and address concerns raised during the comment period. It will publish their findings in the Federal Register once completed.
