Farm Groups Rally Against Mandatory EID

R-CALF USA and 45 other farming, ranching, and food groups sent a letter to Congress expressing the need to block the USDA’s mandated use of electronic identification ear tags in adult animals. R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard says the current traceability efforts are enough. “We have been fighting against the USDA’s effort to mandate an electronic identification system for many years,” Bullard says. “The USDA, in 2013, agreed with producers that we could achieve the disease traceability objective by still providing producers with flexibility, by allowing them to choose their type of animal identification.” R-CALF has some support from various congressional leaders but continues to push for stop to the mandate.