The U.S. cattle industry will have a new level of disease protection next month (Nov. 2024) when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s enhanced animal disease traceability rule takes effect.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says a rapid response to an animal disease outbreak is the aim of the new traceability rule, which used visual checks and electronic tags to track most breeding cattle crossing state lines.
“When I did the G-7 meeting, people were very interested in H5N1, in terms of our ability to test and our ability to identify, our ability to make sure that exports were being checked and protected, that they weren’t getting milk that was tainted in any way. So, the ability to have that system is really, really important.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Mark Eisele has said that group wants private third-party firms to host the database, rather than USDA, protecting producer privacy while still allowing rapid traceback if there’s a disease outbreak. But, Vilsack says data privacy won’t be an issue.
“I don’t think they should be concerned about the confidentiality because it’s going to be controlled by the state. It’s not going to be controlled by the federal government. That information’s not going to be controlled by the federal government. It’s going to go to the state.”
And to those producers who don’t want to bother with electronic tags, South Dakota cattle producer and former NCBA President Todd Wilkinson says…..
“All of us have to just think back to the BSE case and other situations. Look at our friends in the poultry business. If we don’t think an animal disease is going to come into this country, as porous as our borders are, and impact our producers, you’re burying your head in the sand.”
Congress approved $15-million this year to help producers purchase electronic ID tags.
Story courtesy of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
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