Legislation sponsored on May 8 by U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) would prohibit the U.S. Agriculture Secretary from implementing any rule or regulation requiring the mandatory use of electronic identification ear tags on cattle and bison.
“South Dakota cattle producers don’t need DC bureaucrats telling them how to manage and track their livestock,” Sen. Rounds said. “If farmers and ranchers want to use electronic tags, they can do so voluntarily.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in January 2023 published a proposed rule to require cattle and bison to have visually and electronically readable tags, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Rounds’ staff.
The proposed rule also would require records to be entered into a tribal, state or federal database that would be accessible to the federal government, the summary says.
Sen. Rounds introduced S. 4282 to prohibit any federal rule or regulation that would require the mandatory use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which is a wireless system comprised of tags and readers, on cattle or bison.
“USDA’s proposed RFID mandate is federal government overreach, plain and simple,” said Sen. Rounds. “I’m pleased to be introducing this legislation to block the Secretary of Agriculture from mandating the use of electronic tags in cattle and bison herds.”
S. 4282, which is supported by the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, R-CALF USA, and the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.