By Jamie Martin
For decades, the United States has successfully prevented, contained, and eliminated foreign animal diseases from its cattle herd through close collaboration between the USDA and American cattle producers.
However, recent changes by the USDA have raised concerns about government overreach and the potential impact on ranchers.
Nearly 20 years ago, the USDA attempted to require all cattle producers to register their premises, individually identify each animal with electronic identification (EID) eartags, and track animal movement through a federal database.
This approach mirrored systems used in countries like Australia, Canada, and the UK nations with different legal frameworks regarding personal freedom and property rights. American producers overwhelmingly rejected the plan, leading the USDA to withdraw it.
Ten years later, the USDA introduced what it called a “flexible solution,” offering producers various identification options, from simple tags to EID. This system, endorsed by animal health officials, allowed effective disease tracebacks in under an hour faster than the time it takes to load a truck of cattle.
Despite these successful results, the USDA issued a final rule on April 26, 2024, requiring the exclusive use of EID tags. This eliminates previously available options, even though existing methods have proven effective.
The USDA claims this move will reduce transcription errors in databases, but it fails to address the continued reliance on paper records like veterinary inspection certificates, which are not electronically scannable and remain essential to disease traceability.
The new mandate does not expand the number of cattle subject to official identification, meaning it brings no measurable improvement to current traceback capabilities.
The USDA has admitted the primary motivation behind this rule is to support beef exports though in 2023, only 11% of U.S.-produced beef was exported, while domestic demand exceeded supply.
This policy shift forces all 622,000 U.S. beef producers to bear the financial burden costing tens of millions annually for the benefit of a small sector focused on exports.
The biggest winners are multinational eartag manufacturers and beef packers, while America’s cattle producers are left footing the bill. Congress must step in to protect the rights and livelihoods of U.S. ranchers from this unjustified federal mandate.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-peopleimages
Categories: National