Disease traceability efforts in the livestock industry are nothing new. Aimed to help in the effort, a provision of $15 million for electronic identification (e-ID) tags was passed in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 in early March 2024. All cattle in the U.S. may be required to have an e-ID tag in the future under the Animal Disease Traceability rules.
The act passed in the House with a 339-85 vote and then in the Senate with a 75-22 vote.
Producers know best the efforts they take to reduce risk of and treat disease within their herds. While no changes to traceability regulations have been mandated yet, the USDA is in the process of finalizing the ruling. It’s the hope that the funding will go to producers, so they do not incur the full cost of complying with the updated rule when purchasing the additional equipment needed.
The USDA proposed changes to the animal disease traceability regulations in 2022. The current regulations have been in place since 2013. The new regulations would make specific animal identification requirements for animals that qualify under indemnification.
There may be concern about sharing additional information with government agencies; however, the eID information will be protected by the Freedom of Information Act and cannot be shared between agencies. The only purpose of the tags is for disease traceability.
