USA: USDA seeks public comment on proposal to strengthen animal disease traceability regulations

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently announced a proposed rule to amend animal disease traceability regulations. The agency is soliciting public comment on the proposal until March 22, 2023. The biggest change is that official USDA tags will now be defined as those that are both visually and electronically readable. Here are some examples of official identification. About 89% of the national herd of approximately 100 million cattle and bison will not be impacted by the changes in this proposal. The proposal would only apply to certain classes of cattle that are crossing state lines and meet any of the following conditions: USDA will remain technology-neutral at this time, meaning they will not standardize which frequency tag you must use. U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA) members understand the importance of building an animal disease traceability system that doesn't burden producers, is effective for ...