Livestock producers represented by the Billings, MT cattlemen’s group known as R-CALF say they have a “right” to use “traditional low-cost methods related to animal identification and traceability.”
But USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) with growing support from such industry leaders as Tyson Foods wants to soon require “radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags for tracking animals in the United States.
The new technology — replacing everything back to the branding iron—is needed in the world where quick tracking during outbreaks of animal disease is critical to limiting the economic harm that’s possible.