A legal challenge to a USDA mandate requiring electronic identification tags for certain beef cattle, bison and dairy cows moving across state lines will continue after a federal judge on Tuesday denied a USDA motion to dismiss the case brought on behalf of cattle producers.
The rule that took effect on Nov. 5, 2024, requires visibly readable EID tags for sexually intact cattle and bison 18 months or older, dairy cattle of any age and for cattle and bison of any age used for rodeos, shows or exhibitions.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, on behalf of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), the South Dakota Stockgrowers Alliance, and the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, as well as individual producers.
The federal court also dismissed one of the counts alleged by the plaintiffs — that the mandate was beyond USDA’s statutory power. Also allowed to stand are the plaintiffs’ allegation that the final rule was arbitrary and capricious.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) provide EID tags for free through state veterinarian offices.
The lawsuit is seeking the vacation of the rule in its entirety and to permanently block its enforcement.
Though APHIS has funded EID tags so far, the judge expressed skepticism that such funding would continue. USDA has argued that APHIS would continue to provide funding.
USDA has estimated the number of cattle affected by the rule would be about 11 million head per year.
In its ruling, the court was skeptical that such APHIS funding is long-term and at some point, producers could shoulder more of a financial burden to meet the mandate.
“To this end they assert that plaintiffs have not established ‘that they stand to incur actual and imminent financial costs in order to comply with the rule,'” the court said in the ruling.
In the first year of the implementation of the rule, many producers in states like Montana and Wyoming have been left to pay for tags out of their own pocket. USDA’s allocation of tags has proven insufficient for some states, leaving ranchers to pay for the tags themselves or state organizations, like the Montana Department of Livestock, paying for a portion of the tags.
The concern is particularly acute in the Designated Surveillance Area (DSA) in Southwest Montana and Northwest Wyoming, where producers already face stricter traceability requirements because of the presence of brucellosis in elk herds around Yellowstone Park. Ranchers in this area have long faced heightened testing and traceability requirements and with the new rule from USDA, some ranches to absorb the additional expense themselves.
In the ruling for the federal court, it was noted that the plaintiffs, throughout their amended complaint allege that certain individuals have paid money for EID tags and that the financial burden on most cattle herds will be anywhere from $50 to $2,000. Additionally, the final rule states that APHIS cannot commit to long-term funding for EID tags because the availability of federal funding in future fiscal years is dependent on annual congressional appropriations and USDA-APHIS budgetary priorities.
As a result of the ruling, the case now moves to the summary judgement stage, according to the ruling.
EID tags are printed with a unique 15-digit number.
USDA has stated the rule will help producers by making it easier to track animals during an animal-disease outbreak.
“Since the rule came into effect almost a year ago, America’s ranchers and farmers have been forced to comply with its expensive and unnecessary EID mandate,” said Kara Rollins, litigation counsel for the alliance.
“The rule is a classic example of bureaucratic convenience overriding reasoned decision making. We look forward to having this case resolved on the merits.”
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DTN/Northern Ag Network
