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Northeast Iowa | If anyone read the federal rule, they would see that Crete was right in his original EID thread. It's not that big a deal.
* You do not have to put an EID tag in every animal on the place.
* This replaces the metal tag used in the past. (Bangs / CHV)
* It only applies to sexually intact animals 18 months or older transported across state lines.
* Metal tags were free before. EID tags will be free now. Your cost did not increase. You are not being forced to buy an electronic reader.
That's it. Everyone is not out to get you. This isn't the first domino in a series that will end cattle production as we know it. Stock Talk has been predicting the industry's demise for the 15 years I have been here. Most of the conspiracy theories and the-world-is-ending ideas brought up in Crete's thread (JPT was dead on in his assessment. DEAD. ON.) are covered below on the FAQ page.
Let's start with the main one.
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Q. What animals will be impacted by the new
EID rule?
The current ADT rule covers all sexually intact
cattle and bison 18 months of age or older (which
excludes most feeder cattle), all dairy cattle of any
age, and all cattle and bison of any age used for
rodeo, exhibition, or recreational events. The
current ADT rule only applies to the interstate
movement of covered classes of cattle and bison.
The new EID rule will apply to the same covered
classes of cattle and bison moving interstate
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I have put CHV tags in my replacement females for probably 30 years or more. They stay in Iowa, so I don't have to do it, but if I want to sell them to someone out of state, I easily can. I've had those metal tags fall out. I've had one EID tag fall out. The herd eats out of bale feeders and fence line bunks with cables in the winter.
Iowa switched to EID tags from the metal tags a couple years ago. I chose to put EID tags in the rest of the herd since then. My world has not imploded, but my tin foil hat now only picks up reruns of "Nero Wolfe" and "Punky Brewster" instead of "ALF" like it did before.
That goes in the Downside column.
Here is the full list of the FAQ page, printed out below the link.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/traceability-faq.pdf
Frequently Asked Questions: Animal Disease
Traceability Rule
(9 CFR Part 86)
April 26, 2024
Q: What is animal disease traceability?
A: Animal disease traceability (ADT), or knowing
where diseased animals and where at-risk animals
are, where they’ve been, and when they were at
that location, is very important to ensuring a rapid
response when animal disease events take place.
ADT does not prevent disease; however, an
efficient and accurate traceability system helps
reduce the number of animals involved and
exposed in a disease investigation and reduces the
time needed to respond. Reducing the number of
animal owners impacted by an animal disease
event reduces the economic strain on owners and
affected communities.
Q. Why is APHIS implementing this new rule?
A. APHIS collaborated extensively with
stakeholders to consider future technological
improvements to ADT. Through these discussions,
and previous comments in the Federal Register on
the topic, it became clear that electronic
identification (EID) and records for livestock
movement are critical for safeguarding animal
health. In January 2023, APHIS published a
proposed rule in the Federal Register and received
more than 2,000 comments to consider before
publishing the final rule. As a result, USDA is
committed to improving an electronic system using
EID technology that enables rapid tracing of sick or
exposed animals and a rapid response to animal
disease.
Q. How much will EID tags cost producers?
A. EID tags will be available at no cost to producers
through their State Veterinarian’s Offices. EID tags
can also be purchased directly from manufacturers
and distributors at market rates.
Q. How do producers acquire no-cost EID tags?
A. All of the no-cost EID tags are being distributed
via the State Veterinarian’s Office in your state.
Please contact them. For a list of State
Veterinarian’s Offices contact information, please
visit this link supplied by the National Assembly of
State Animal Health Officials.
Q. How will EID eartags assist producers?
A. The proven key to protecting U.S. livestock
health, producers’ livelihoods, and the U.S.
economy is swift detection, containment, and
eradication of the disease. Having a strong ADT
system— supported by EID —helps us quickly
pinpoint where disease is, provide the least
disruption to our producers, and keep healthy
animals alive and moving to market.
Q. What animals will be impacted by the new
EID rule?
The current ADT rule covers all sexually intact
cattle and bison 18 months of age or older (which
excludes most feeder cattle), all dairy cattle of any
age, and all cattle and bison of any age used for
rodeo, exhibition, or recreational events. The
current ADT rule only applies to the interstate
movement of covered classes of cattle and bison.
The new EID rule will apply to the same covered
classes of cattle and bison moving interstate.
Q. What types of identification are approved for
use in cattle and bison under this rule?
A: Each of the following official identification
devices and methods are approved for use under
part 86:
• An official identification ear tag, beginning
180 days after publication in the Federal
Register will be required to be both visually
and electronically readable.
• Brands, registered with a recognized brand
authority and accompanied by an official
brand inspection certificate, when agreed to
by the shipping and receiving state/Tribal
animal health authorities.
• Tattoos and other identification methods
acceptable to a breed association for
registration purposes, accompanied by the
breed registration certificate, when agreed
upon by the shipping and receiving
state/Tribal animal health authorities.
• Group/lot identification when a group or unit
of animals is managed together as one
group throughout the pre-harvest production
chain.
Q. If my animal is already identified with a
visual-only official identification tag, will I be
required to apply an electronically readable
tag?
A. No, if your animal has been tagged with a visual
only official identification tag prior to the rule’s
effective date, you are not required to apply an
electronically readable tag to the animal. All visual-
only official identification tags applied to cattle and
bison prior to the date the rule is effective will be
considered official identification for the lifetime of
the animal.
Q. How does ADT benefit producers?
A. ADT has benefitted producers by reducing the
number of herds involved in disease investigations
and quarantines. Prior to ADT, low levels of
documentation and individual animal identification
required more herds and cattle to be quarantined
and tested during disease investigations to rule
them out. The required interstate movement
documentation and official identification of livestock
has reduced the average time to trace out diseases
from months down to minutes. ADT allows a much
more focused response that does not require
quarantine of nearly as many herds. This is
especially important to allow as many producers as
possible to continue their business without
disruption.
Q. How do official EID eartags enhance
traceability?
A. Official eartags provide animal health officials
with a specific starting point from which to trace
diseased or potentially diseased (exposed)
animals. The required tag distribution records
associate the official identification number with the
person that received the device. Without official
identification, animal health officials’ ability to
accurately trace an animal’s movements can take
months or may never be achieved. Official eartags
provide the opportunity to conduct a disease
investigation from two points of reference rather
than just one.
EID ear tags facilitate faster and more accurate
animal identification data collection which increases
the efficiency of the response activities, resulting in
less disruption to the herd, and thus less impact on
producers and communities. If metal ear tags have
been used, the response activities take more time
and require more interaction with animals due to
the increased restraint needed to properly read the
tag numbers. Metal tags also require manual data
entry, increasing the likelihood of transcription
errors. This time-consuming method is disruptive to
normal herd operations, increases stress on the
animals, and increases the risk of injury to animals
and handlers. The more efficiently and effectively
animal health officials can complete a trace and
response activities, the faster we can regionalize
and compartmentalize animal disease outbreaks to
mitigate adverse economic impacts.
The sheep industry has had tremendous success
with official identification expediting traceability for
scrapie. As part of the National Scrapie Eradication
Program (NSEP), a cooperative State-Federal
industry program, 92 percent of cull breeding sheep
bear an official identification tag at slaughter,
primarily using flock identification eartags applied at
the farm of origin. This identification made it
possible in 2010 for USDA, as part of the scrapie
surveillance program, to trace scrapie-positive
sheep from slaughter to the flock of origin or birth
96 percent of the time, typically in a matter of
minutes.
Q. What role do states and Tribes play in the
implementation of the ADT rule?
A. USDA supports states and Tribes, the primary
administrators of the animal disease traceability
activities, via cooperative agreements. This
approach to improving ADT allows states and
Tribes to develop systems that work best for their
livestock industries, producers, and others in their
jurisdiction.
Q. Under this ADT regulation, what do I need to
move my livestock interstate?
A. Unless specifically exempted, covered livestock
moved interstate would have to be officially
identified and accompanied by an interstate
certificate of veterinary inspection (ICVI) or other
documentation agreed upon by the shipping and
receiving states (such as an owner-shipper
statement or a brand inspection certificate). The
regulations define approved methods of official
identification for each species.
Q. How do I know what eartags are official?
What types of eartags are recognized as
“official” under the rule?
A. Official eartags are a common method of official
identification of several livestock species. The
regulation requires that the U.S. Official Eartag
Shield is imprinted on all the official eartags. You
can also recognize official eartags via their
numbering systems:
• National Uniform Eartagging System (NUES).
• Animal Identification Number (AIN).
• Location-based number system.
• Flock-based number system.
Q. What happens if my animal loses its official
identification eartag or other device?
A. If an animal loses its official eartag and needs a
new one, the person applying the new one would
have to record the following information and
maintain the following information for five years:
• Date the new official identification device was
added;
• Official identification number on the new
device; and
• Official identification number on the old
device, if known.
This recordkeeping requirement will aid State,
Tribal, and Federal officials when it is necessary to
trace animals.
Q. What is an interstate certificate of veterinary
inspection (or ICVI)?
A. An ICVI, often referred to as a health certificate,
is an official document issued by an Accredited
Veterinarian, or a Federal, State or Tribal Animal
Health Official, for the animals that are being
shipped interstate. The locations the livestock are
shipped from and shipped to are listed on the
certificate. If the animal is not required to be
officially identified, the person completing the ICVI
would specify the exemption that applies. Under
specific circumstances, the traceability regulation
provides options other than ICVIs for the interstate
movement of livestock. For documentation other
than an ICVI, the shipping and receiving state must
be in agreement to allow the movement to occur.
Some examples of these other documents include
brand inspection certificates, or an owner shipper
statement.
Q. Can you explain more about the movement
of livestock on Tribal land?
A. Tribal lands follow the same traceability system
as the state or states they are in, unless the Tribe
chooses to have its own traceability system
separate from the state. If the Tribal land straddles
a state line, then livestock can move within the
Tribal land, even across state lines.
Q. Who will hold the information needed to
conduct traces? How will USDA gain access to
this information when a disease event occurs?
A. In most cases States and Tribal Nations maintain
ADT information. USDA maintains information
systems that support ADT and follows secure data
standards to ensure compatibility with State and
Tribal Nation databases so that only the essential
information is provided to USDA and other States
and Tribal Nations when needed for animal disease
programs or investigations.
Q. What will USDA do to keep my information
confidential?
A. These regulations uphold and build on existing
USDA disease program regulations, under which
confidentiality has always been maintained. There
are provisions in the law for the protection of
confidential producer data held by USDA. Producer
information gathered by USDA through ADT efforts
is treated as information maintained under existing
disease program regulations and, therefore, is
exempt from provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act. | |
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The EID federal rule
