ALL EYES ON
TRACEABILITY by Callahan Grund, executive director, U.S. CattleTrace
In recent months, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding EIDs, traceability and identification. From cattle industry associations’ policy positions to amendments of current federal rules and federal funding discussions, there seems to be as much confusion as ever as to what the heck is going on with animal identification and traceability. I for one know that it is incredibly hard to keep up with all of the different topics that have occurred and it’s my full-time job! However, as a fellow cattle producer, I hope that this article will help boil all of the hoopla down into some real “cowboy talk” to help you understand where things currently stand. To start in somewhat of a chronological order, we have to go way back to 2013 when the USDA implemented a traceability rule for cattle moving between states or as you’ve likely read it, interstate movement of cattle. The cattle covered under this traceability rule are sexually intact breeding beef cattle over the age of 18 months, dairy cattle and any cattle used for rodeo, shows, exhibitions or recreational events. All of these cattle must have an official form of ID and be accompanied with a certificate of veterinary inspection (CVI) or “vet papers” as some loosely use in slang cattle terms. Since the rule went into effect in 2013, the official forms of ID have included- the orange, metal Bangs tags or the “840” EID tags. Cattle moving direct to slaughter across state lines (most of the time- cull cows or bulls) may have a USDA approved backtag in place of an official ID. This rule has never included feeder cattle or
26 California Cattleman May/June 2024
sexually intact breeding cattle under 18 monthsof-age. The reason I have started here is that this rule has been in place for over 11 years. The headlines you may have recently read about are regarding an AMENDMENT to this already existing rule. On April 26, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) made an announcement with their final amendment to the rule, with the most significant being a transition of official IDs to be visually and electronically readable for those classes of cattle that are already covered under the traceability rule. With all of that backstory, I’ll boil it down to our “cowboy talk.” For sexually intact, breeding beef cattle over the age of 18 months, dairy cattle, and any cattle used for rodeo, shows, exhibitions or recreational events, they will need an official form of ID that is both visually and electronically readable and accompanied with a CVI to cross state lines. Today, the most prominent form of ID that fits this need are “840” EID tags. I have seen some discussion occurring amongst the industry that this is a “new” mandatory tagging requirement that the government is imposing upon us. However, the only “new” requirement happening here is a transition in the FORM of ID that is used for an already existing rule. Now that we’ve gotten a clearer understanding of the new USDA amendment to their existing traceability rule, let’s look at the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 that was passed in March.