A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposal that would mandate electronic ear tags for cattle and bison crossing state lines would place unnecessary and punitive costs on American ranchers while also further raising the price of beef, according to an industry expert.
“If this passes it would be extremely cumbersome to commerce by making it more difficult for the industry to do its basic job,” Justin Tupper, president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association, told The Epoch Times.
“Ranchers are already facing a lot of difficulties in trying to keep the price of beef low, and we would be forced to pass on the cost of this new expense to the consumers,” he said.
“Every step of this would present a significant cost, not to mention further risk to the animal,” added Mr. Tupper.
Currently most livestock are tracked with tags that have 11-digit numbers that can be visible and tracked. On Jan. 19, the Federal Register published proposed regulations would that add radio-frequency identification as a requirement for ear tags that are “both visually and electronically readable in order to be recognized for use as official ear tags for interstate movement of cattle and bison.”
Livestock under the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulation will include all sexually intact cattle and bison 18 months of age and older; all female dairy cattle of any age; all male dairy cattle born after March 11, 2013; cattle and bison of any age used for rodeo or recreational events; and cattle and bison of any age used for shows or exhibitions, according to the proposal.
Electronic identification tags for livestock movements have been a source of controversy since 2003 after the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, was first discovered in the United States. The cattle industry has been slowly moving on a path toward increased traceability rules and technology ever since. Mr. Tupper said that most livestock owners support tracing, but the system should be uniform and not penalize American ranchers.
“There have been estimates that the tags could cost $30 million or more,” said Mr. Tupper. “If they are going to force us to do this then they should be the ones to pay for it.”
The ranching community has the support of Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), who took to the floor of the House of Representatives earlier this week to propose an amendment “to keep the feds from forcing ranchers to chip cattle and bison.”
“It is dangerous and should be stopped,” said Ms. Hageman. “We already have an identification system in place that is effective, robust, and affordable … It is going to cost our ranchers literally millions upon millions upon millions of dollars to comply.”
Setbacks and Obstacles
On Wednesday the House soundly rejected the amendment that would bar USDA from requiring electronic tracking of cattle as the GOP-controlled House completed debate on a fiscal 2024 spending bill for USDA, FDA, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.The FY24 spending bill, which includes the regulation, is believed to have enough support to pass the House, but would face further opposition in the Senate. A date has not yet been set for a vote.
The nation’s ranchers have been hit by a series of setbacks and obstacles. Ranchers are facing a threat from the synthetic “meat” market after the USDA gave two producers the green light to start making and selling their lab-grown chicken-like products in the United States. The demand for synthetic meat has been spurred largely by corporate entities and government agencies working in tandem with the environmental movement.
A more immediate threat is the price of beef, which has been on the rise nationwide, jumping roughly 2 percent from November 2022 to June 2023. Droughts have reduced the volume of grazing land for cattle, while feed has become more expensive. The USDA says the cattle count is now at its lowest point since 1962.
Bernt Nelson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, told Fox 5 that cattlemen—and consumers—shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon.
“It’s going to continue for at least another year. I think it’ll be 2025 before we can start to rebuild that inventory in which case our beef supply would likely increase, and then we’ll see some softening in prices,” Mr. Nelson said.
However, if the new regulations are approved mandating all cattle be electronically traced under the new guidelines ranchers will have to further raise prices to stay in business, according to Mr. Tupper.
“We want to be able to stay in business, but also need to protect the consumer,” said Mr. Tupper.
“There is only so much they can afford to pay right now.”
