USDA's Animal Disease Traceability Program Moves Ahead

August 17, 2020 | Volume 125

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USDA's Animal Disease Traceability Program Moves Ahead

Many in the beef business were confused with USDA late last year. That’s because the agency pulled down the timeline it had just posted for what it was going to accept as official identification under the animal disease traceability (ADT) program. Turns out, according to Greg Ibach, USDA under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, it was done at President Trump’s request.

Speaking at the Cattle Health & Well Being Committee meeting during the recent Cattle Industry Summer Meeting in Denver, Ibach said, “The President asked us to make sure that when we’re changing long-standing policy, that we do a notice and comment period. So we pulled those back to be able to introduce a notice and comment period to allow [people] in the cattle industry to be able to respond to that.”

In the News

Youth Livestock Expo Reports COVID Exposure

An outbreak of COVID-19 at the Juneau County Youth Livestock Expo in Mauston, Wisconsin.The Juneau County Department of Health announced and officials from the department said visitors to the event between July 28 and July 30 are at risk of possible exposure to the virus as part of the outbreak. An outbreak is defined by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as “two or more laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the same facility or associated with a single event, with onset within two maximum COVID-19 incubation periods of each other (28 days).”

NCBA Adopts Policy to Support U.S. CattleTrace

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) board of directors adopted a new policy in support of U.S. CattleTrace and its mission of advancing disease traceability in the U.S. cattle industry. The policy resolution was brought forward by state cattlemen’s associations in Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.

Trade Barriers in Mexico Expand Challenges During Pandemic

As 2020 began, America’s dairy farmers and dairy cooperatives looked forward to expanded trade opportunities. The recent accord reached on the Japan Phase One agreement, the soon-to-be-completed Phase One trade agreement with China, and the imminent final passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) all represented hope for our industry after years of low milk prices and a persistent rural recession.