New RFID rules on horizon

Regulations regarding the movement of cattle and bison are changing. On Nov. 5, new rules regarding official identification for interstate and intrastate movement will take effect.

Dr. Katie Cornille, a senior veterinarian at the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, and Avrey Bergum, a state program administrator for cattle and traceability, spoke about the changes in a webinar entitled “Electronic Identification Requirements” which aimed to help farmers adhere to the new regulations.

“We are always thinking about foreign animal diseases and preparing for those,” Cornille said.

Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized the rule, “Use of Electronic Identification Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison,” which changed regulations for cattle and bison movement.

Determination for official identification depends on the age of the animal, class of the animal, purpose of the movement and where it is going. There are two types of movement that each have their own requirements — intrastate, within Minnesota, and interstate, across state lines.

In intrastate movements of breeding cattle, rodeo cattle and exhibition cattle, all must have an official identification to move from their original farm to another location.

Any cattle moving to an approved livestock auction market, slaughter establishment or slaughter-only handling facility will not need to be officially identified with an RFID tag. This does not include back tag requirements, Bergum said.

Slaughter establishments include butcher shops and packing plants whereas slaughter-only handling facilities house animals prior to slaughter.

Breeding cattle are defined as sexually intact female dairy cattle, all beef cows over 18 months of age and all bulls over 10 months of age, even if they are maintained for feeding. Any animals under these ages that will be used for breeding purposes will need identification as well, Bergum said.

There is an exception for some animals — beef heifers under 18 months of age maintained for feeding, bulls under 10 months of age maintained for feeding and steers or spayed heifers. These animals will not need an RFID tag if moving intrastate unless moving for rodeo or exhibition.

Interstate requirements may require identification for sexually intact animals that are over 18 months, female dairy cattle at any age, male dairy cattle born after March 11, 2013, and those used for rodeo, recreational events or exhibitions.

When importing cattle, official identification will be required, unless the cattle are going from the farm of origin directly to market, slaughter or a slaughter-only handling facility.

Each state has its own rules regarding the movement of cattle and bison.

“This is just a friendly reminder, anyone exporting from Minnesota please always check with the receiving state for their import requirements,” Cornille said.

There are some exceptions when moving cattle or bison across state lines, Cornille said. These include all of the following. Having a commuter herd or official agreements. Moving animals through another state back to the original state. Moving animals directly to an approved tagging site and giving official identification back tags prior to comingling. Moving animals directly to slaughter. Finally, moving animals directly to no more than one approved livestock facility market, then directly to slaughter with a back tag.

As animals are getting RFID tags administered, there needs to be a record to trace each animal. Cornille said to record the tag number, animal species, sex, age, type, date applied and name and address where the identification was administered. She said to maintain these records for five years.

“Really the only time that it is utilized by us is in the event of disease traces,” Cornille said. “When we do have a trace and we are following the Hansel and Gretel bread crumbs to figure out what animals were exposed, whatever the situation is, we can do that faster.”

The official identification for cattle and bison is an electronic identification tag and a visual tag. The current technology is called RFID.

The rules for general official identification have not changed federally or state-wide for Minnesota.

There are many places to find RFID tags, including approved manufacturers like Allflex, Datamars, Destron Fearing, Leader Products, Shearwell, Wuxi and Y-Tex, a veterinarian and the USDA distribution program.

By using the tags during a disease traceback, fewer animals may need to be quarantined because it is easier to determine which animals were potentially exposed, Cornille said.

“My objective is to keep the industry moving as much as possible while still protecting the industry,” Cornille said. “Things that improve traceability help me do that.”