Statement from R-CALF USA on USDA’s final rule to require EID earmarks

Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a copy of the agency’s final rule, “Use of Electronic Identification Ear Tags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison,” which will soon be published in the Federal Register. The regulation states that 180 days after this publication, all official ear tags sold for or applied to livestock and bison must be legible both visually and electronically (EID).

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard issued the following statement in response to the final EID rule.

“It is no surprise that while USDA claims that this EID mandate is intended to improve disease control, it proudly discloses in the rule’s accompanying press release that ‘the rule’s primary benefit’ is to maintain foreign markets .

“This is because the beneficiaries of this rule are not livestock producers or consumers. Instead, this rule is intended to benefit multinational beef packers and multinational ear tag manufacturers, who will benefit at the expense of livestock producers and consumers. Because the rule is unaffordable for independent livestock producers, the agency is using millions of taxpayer dollars to give away millions of their unnecessary EID earmarks.

“The USDA has given a slap in the face to independent livestock producers who have worked closely with the USDA in the past to very successfully monitor, control and eradicate foreign animal diseases.

“We will fight against the implementation of this disastrous rule that infringes on the freedoms and liberties of our nation’s independent ranchers and ranchers. This is government overreach at its worst.

“Our goal will be to restore to our nation’s livestock producers the flexibility that the USDA promised them when they agreed to the agency’s 2013 rule. This common-sense rule provided producers the flexibility to implement a variety of different animal identification equipment, depending on what best suits their individual activities. Among the approved devices from which manufacturers could choose were the very cheap metal ear tags and the very expensive electronic identification ear tags. The USDA has robbed producers of their ability to make their own business decisions. We cannot and must not tolerate this as a sector.”