Hidden within the Omnibus Bill that just passed. Here are two articles related to it. They want to monitor every aspect of the livestock industry just like the EU.


https://www.tsln.com/news/house-approves-appropriations-package-bill-includes-15-million-for-electronic-cattle-tagging-system/

More government

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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More government

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That always works so well

The winners here are:

Big ranchers (shocker)
Big packers (shocker)
Ear tag manufacturers (double shocker)

This will be a huge hit to the little guy, if implemented.

In the cattle industry, the term EID (electronic id) has referred to RFID (radio frequency id) which is a chip that emits a radio frequency that can only be read by a RFID scanner. This RFID is applied through an ear tagging system. It offers only a unique identification number to that animal and does not emit anything that can be tracked through gps. The information on this unique id is not any different than the information that is on metal bangle ear tags that have been used for decades to identify cattle. The same RFID technology is used in other animals when they get "microchipped".

There was a government effort in the years preceding Covid to replace the metal bangle ear tags with newer RFID ear tags. This was to be implemented over several years and be permanently in place by 2023. The motive was to create a more efficient system of traceability in instances of disease outbreak to help keep our food supply safe. That time period has passed without any real movement to implement the program.

It seems that the government is trying to start up the disease traceability program again, but changing the language to have EID include tracking devices or other monitoring devices that the government has access to. We have a real problem here. I don't suspect most ranchers will take kindly to their cattle being tracked by the governement for nefarious motives.

One thing that needs to be kept in mind, the current RFID chips are small, size of a rice grain and have no tracking capabilities. Tracking devices are bulky and require a power source. Tracking is currently used by a few individuals in the cattle industry, but they are bulky neck collars that get damaged and lost and require a power source. The practicality and feasibility of implementing tracking devices in cattle is not there now, but as technology continues to evolve, it might be the size of rice grain one day.

Great post. Thank you.

TikkaShooter said:

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The winners here are:

Big ranchers (shocker)
Big packers (shocker)
Ear tag manufacturers (double shocker)

This will be a huge hit to the little guy, if implemented.

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Big government ****s the small guy. Always.

They can tag this one but I'm not putting her in the corral to make it easier. She doesn't like people or dogs.
Have to watch her if out in the pasture close by or especially in the pens.

Maybe the USDA really is scared of a disease outbreak, but I doubt it, and in the end, I don't think it really matters. What does matter is that both Tyson Foods and Cargill have stated plans to force their suppliers to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions and report their plans to reduce them. According to Tyson's own ESG report, what is holding them back is that, "supplier data and standardized methodologies for calculations across industry sectors" aren't available. What would make that data easily available are EID tags in every animal. Once cattle producers are mandated to use the tags by the USDA and mandated to report emissions by the SEC, then the corporations can easily tell farmers and ranchers how they have to raise and feed their cattle. There are many reasons why EIDs should not be mandated, but they can be summed up in one word… Freedom.

It's not so much the outbreak, but tracing the source, and the economic impact that ordering hundreds of thousands of potentially tainted head to be destroyed would have.

With better traceability, the impact would be minimized if something should happen.

Left up to manual tracking systems, errors abound. People get in a rush and omit data. Data get lost. Data get recorded, but never into the database…

EIDs are just one step toward making it harder to lose Information.

Many don't understand just what would happen if something like BSE is found at a major processor and it traces back to a wide possible area. When a lot of the little guys are forced to destroy their entire herds because the tainted animals can only be traced as far as a state or region, the reason for tracking will become obvious.

Bingo.

In the chicken industry entire facilities worth of animals are destroyed to stop disease outbreak. Of course natural migratory movement of other birds flying over and crapping generally drive this.

Mas89 said:

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They can tag this one but I'm not putting her in the corral to make it easier. She doesn't like people or dogs.
Have to watch her if out in the pasture close by or especially in the pens.

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Too bad Baxter Black is no longer with us to narrate this effort.

I know some very independent public land ranchers that hate the government and like to let their cows stay on their public land allotments well beyond the date they are supposed to remove their cows. Chronic problems with "hunters leaving gates open", etc. They wouldn't appreciate the feds knowing where their cows are on a real time basis.

These guys operate on many thousands of acres, usually in very large pastures.