- \The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a lawsuit to stop USDA RFID ear tag requirements for shipment of dairy cattle, some beef cattle and bison
- Meanwhile, state officials have reported that they do not have enough of the tags to fully implement the program
Set to go into effect Nov. 5, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) RFID ear tag requirement for shipment of dairy cattle, some beef cattle and bison is facing a lawsuit as well as concerns about the rollout of the program.
The new rule mandates each cow—within the dictated type and age categories—will require an ear tag with a visual ID as well as electronic RFID chip. If a cow has already been tagged with a visual-only official identification tag prior to the rule’s effective date, producers are not required to apply an electronically readable tag to the animal.
Approved devices for EIDs include 134.2 kHz LF RFID tags compliant with both the 11784 and 11785 ISO standards, or UHF RFID tags. APHIS has provided official ID tags for many years. Beginning in 2020, it provided up to eight million LF RFID button tags each year for state animal health officials for use in monitoring cattle and bison in their states.
Lawsuit Filed
Days before the law was set to go into effect, New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) — representing ranchers, farmers, and livestock producers who move cattle across state lines—filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota to “halt this illegal attempt to eliminate an already-in-place efficient means of cattle identification.”
The lawyers for the NCLA are arguing that the Animal Health Protection Act does not give USDA and APHIS the power to mandate EID eartags and a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allows the courts to bypass federal agencies’ interpretation of the act.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the APHIS’s rule imposes “punishing new financial and practical burdens, particularly on smaller and independent cattle producers.” NCLA represents ranchers Rick and Theresa Fox and Kenny and Roxie Fox of South Dakota and Tracy and Donna Hunt of Wyoming, as well as R-CALF USA, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, and the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance in an effort to stop the federal law.
“USDA and APHIS are pursuing their objectives without any regard to the statutory limitations placed on them by Congress,” stated Kara Rollins, litigation counsel, NCLA, in a press statement announcing the lawsuit. “Sadly, in this instance, America’s ranchers have been left holding the bag and footing the bill for this unlawful rule.”
USDA Actions
The mandate aims to improve disease traceability by utilizing tags that can be read both visually and electronically with a scanner. The rule, which was finalized on April 26, applies to interstate movements for all intact cattle and bison 18 months of age or older, all dairy cattle, and show and rodeo cattle and bison of any age.
The rule does not apply to beef cattle under 18 months of age.
“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,” said Dr. Michael Watson, a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service administrator, in a news release.
Not Enough Tags
But published reports indicated there were not enough tags to fully implement the program. The North Dakota State Veterinarian reports that his state and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana have already used up their 2024 tag allocation.
Dr. Ethan Andress said that USDA allocated tags to each state based on what they deemed the need for interstate movement of cattle in that state.
“North Dakota traditionally needs about 125,000 silver tags for interstate movement of cattle and about 150,000 to 175,000 tags for brucellosis,” said the North Dakota state veterinarian. He said USDA allocated his state 116,000 electronic (RFID) tags.
Congressional Funding
Congress allocated USDA $15 million for the program. In its regulatory impact analysis for the 2024 final rule, APHIS estimates that the total average cost to the industry of purchasing EID eartags would range from approximately $28.9 million to $34 million. These tags were allocated to states on a percent basis of how many cows exist in each state.
“USDA used the $15 million from Congress and bought 8 million tags,” said Dr. Andress, adding USDA was attempting to fulfill or nearly fulfill the need for identification of breeding stock that moves interstate, but did not consider or provide the required tags for bangs vaccinations.
The North Dakota state veterinarian said his office has been informed that more tags will be made available for each state at the beginning of 2025.