R-CALF, other groups ask court to stop USDA EID rule

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), with the support of R-CALF USA, recently asked a federal court to vacate a rule by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that requires electronic identification (EID) eartags for cattle and bison transported across state lines.

The case, R-CALF USA, et al. v. USDA, was heard in the US District Court for the District of South Dakota.

The agency implemented an EID mandate in 2024.

“After previously agreeing that visual-only eartags were effective in tracing disease in cattle and bison and letting producers choose between visual-only and electronically readable options, USDA changed its mind with this 2024 rule,” NCLA said in a statement following the motion. “USDA now says EID tags and electronic records are significantly better for disease tracing, without giving any reasoning or data to support that claim.”

NCLA added USDA has not done anything to address the alleged problems it claims to have with traditional visual tag-based tracing, which has been implemented for many years.

“The current rule does not require producers to buy or use electronic eartag readers, so they use the EID tags to track cattle the same way they previously used the far less expensive visual-only tags,” the group said.

NCLA also noted the USDA did not reasonably explain its change in position on the matter.