Thanks to advance work from industry partners, Alabama cattle farmers should be well-equipped when a federal rule requiring electronic ID (EID) tags for mature breeding animals that cross state lines goes into effect Nov. 5.

Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries (ADAI) Commissioner Rick Pate said the state’s diligent, multi-year preparations are ahead of the curve.

“Our staff works daily to prevent foreign animal diseases in Alabama, while also preparing and practicing response plans in case of an outbreak,” Pate said. “The use of EID tags increases traceability of cattle, which is a critical tool for our response plan. We have been preparing to meet the requirements for EID and are proud to be one of the few states that provides tags to livestock owners at no cost for cattle that require official ID for the next two and a half years.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will oversee implementing the Use of Electronic Identification Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison.

Under the new rule, animals that need EID tags when they enter interstate movement include sexually intact cattle and bison 18 months or older; all dairy cattle, including beef-on-dairy crossbred animals; and cattle and bison of any age used for rodeo, recreation events, shows or exhibitions. This rule does not affect feeder cattle.

Cattle can maintain visual tags applied before Nov. 5 for the lifetime of the animal, said Alabama Farmers Federation Beef Division Director Chris Prevatt. 

Prevatt said the rule will primarily affect stockyards and seedstock producers, noting most genetic suppliers have already implemented EID for animal disease traceability.

The Alabama State Beef Checkoff is helping ease stockyards’ financial burden from the mandate. A checkoff-funded grant program, which began five years ago in preparation for implementation, reimburses stockyards for purchasing an EID wand and panel readers, a special computer system and tag applicators.

It has been a worthwhile investment of producers’ checkoff funds to support stockyards in this partnership, said Alabama Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) Executive Vice President Erin Beasley.

“The ACA leadership has been committed to ensuring any changes to technology within the animal disease traceability law should not affect the speed of commerce or the producers’ bottom line,” Beasley said. “Our goal with implementation is that cattlemen will not notice any changes taking place as a result of the new rule. By having the stockyards equipped and ADAI providing tags, the cattle industry in Alabama is prepared for Nov. 5.”