The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America’s (R-CALF USA) battle against the USDA and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags has been brought to a close after three years.
On May 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled against an appeal from R-CALF and a group of ranchers to reverse a district court’s dismissal of their case against the USDA and its plans to mandate the use of RFID tags over metal bangs ear tags. The case, originally filed in 2019, was amended in February 2021 to challenge the USDA’s use of private groups to help the department implement its planned mandate.
The industry group and ranchers claimed that USDA, the secretary of Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the APHIS administrator violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by working with the Cattle Traceability Working Group (CTWG) and the Producers Traceability Council (PTC).
“Defendants violated FACA, both by failing to comply with FACA’s procedural requirements, and by failing to ensure that advisory committee membership was ‘fairly balanced in terms of the point of view represented,’” R-CALF’s February 2021 opening brief read.
In a May 46-page opinion, Senior U.S. 10th Circuit Judge Mary Beck Briscoe wrote for the panel, “We conclude that defendants were not, as asserted by plaintiffs, required to comply with FACA’s procedural requirements in connection with their interactions with CTWG or PTC.”
She also noted: “The evidence in the record quite clearly indicates that both the Cattle Traceability Working Group and Producers Traceability Council were formed by and composed of industry leaders.”
Background
In 2019, USDA quietly released its plans to mandate RFID tags beginning in 2023. R-CALF filed suit against the department, claiming the mandate was unlawful, as current laws allow cattle producers to choose their own ear tag technologies when moving cattle between states. After much backlash from the industry, the department withdrew its plans.
R-CALF’s lawsuit was dismissed in February 2020 when the USDA withdrew its RFID fact sheet. The group moved forward with its amended complaint, seeking an injunction from the court barring APHIS from using the advice and products it received from the advisory committees. In May 2021, the federal district court in Wyoming dismissed the case, and R-CALF filed an appeal in the 10th District Court, leading to the recent ruling.
After receiving nearly 1,000 comments about a July 2020 notice on making RFID tags the official ear tag for interstate travel, USDA announced in March 2021 it would move forward in a formal rule-making process. Until a rulemaking is finalized, all current APHIS-approved methods of identification may be used as official identification.
“APHIS continues to believe that RFID tags will provide the cattle industry with the best protection against the rapid spread of animal diseases and will therefore continue to encourage the use of RFID tags while rule-making is pending,” the department said in the March 2021 news release. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
