By Julie Tomascik
Editor

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requiring electronic eartags for shipment of dairy cattle, some beef cattle and bison.

“Rapid traceability in a disease outbreak will not only limit how long farms are quarantined, keep more animals from getting sick and help ranchers and farmers get back to selling their products more quickly—but will help keep our markets open,” Michael Watson, administrator of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), said in a news release.

The latest announcement strengthens a rule finalized in 2013 for the official identification and documentation for certain interstate movements of livestock.

The final rule requires eartags to be both visually and electronically readable, and it applies to intact cattle and bison 18 months of age or older, all dairy cattle, cattle and bison of any age used for rodeo or recreation events, and cattle or bison of any age used for shows or exhibitions.

The regulation is intended to enhance disease traceback by replacing metal eartags with tags that can be read by an electronic scanner.

APHIS officials said quick disease traceback could limit the spread of devastating diseases and provide information needed for foreign countries to recognize disease-free regions instead of cutting off trade with the entire U.S.

“By being able to readily prove disease-free status in non-affected regions of the United States, we will be able to request foreign trading partners recognize disease-free regions or zones instead of cutting off trade for the entire country,” APHIS said in a news release. “Traceability of animals is necessary to establish these disease-free zones and facilitate reestablishment of foreign and domestic market access with minimum delay in the wake of an animal disease event.”

The rule, which go into effect in six months, will impact only 11% of the U.S. cattle herd, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

USDA is providing tags for free to cattle producers. For information on how to obtain these free tags, visit APHIS’ Animal Disease Traceability webpage.

View the final rule.