R-CALF Only National Cattle Organization Opposed to RFID Tags

R-CALF USA is the only national cattle organization opposed to a proposal to mandate radio frequency identification eartags starting January 2023. The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposal would require RFID tags as Official Identification in cattle and bison. R-CALF USA requested APHIS withdraw its proposal because it “unlawfully amends substantive federal law that expressly grants America’s cattle farmers and ranchers the option of using various forms of animal identification.”

The group’s comments also point out that the RFID mandate disadvantages cattle producers who reside in states with insufficient packing capacity because those producers will have to incur the costs of higher-priced RFID tags.

In its concluding remarks, the group states that APHIS misinterprets the Executive Order by President Trump that the agency claims gives it authority to mandate RFID without a formal rulemaking process. Instead, “the agency is attempting to issue its mandate with a simple notice.”

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