APHIS Awards RFID Ear Tag Contracts

August 24, 2020 | Volume 126

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently awarded contracts to purchase up to eight million low-frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags, which will help increase overall animal disease traceability in cattle and bison. The contract allows APHIS to purchase additional tags each year for up to five years.

“USDA continues its commitment to protecting our Nation’s animal agriculture by increasing traceability in the cattle and bison sectors, in this case by providing free RFID tags to interested producers,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach. “This will not only help offset the costs of switching to RFID tags, but also help us more quickly respond to potential disease events.”

In the News

Biosecurity Protocols Reduce Disease Transmission

If an outbreak of foot and mouth disease occurs in United States, the impact could be devastating for the beef or dairy industry.

“Foot and mouth disease is still present in the world,” said Jim Lowe, associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois.

“The best model for the beef industry to look at is African swine fever,” the veterinarian said during the Cattlemen’s Education Series organized by the Illinois Beef Association. “We can use this model to reshape our management and systems strategy to mitigate the risk of FMD appearing and spreading within the U.S. industry.”

Packing Industry Still Working Through Backlog

The latest report on beef carcass weights showed the first decrease in several weeks, but only dropping by a pound. The average carcass weight of 877 pounds is 25 pounds heavier than the same week last year. Weekly harvest is decreasing slightly as packers are reporting line speed slowdowns on some shifts due to erratic workforce attendance. Feeder cattle are reportedly bringing the same prices as this time last year, showing optimism for future stability in the fed cattle market .

Researchers Look Beyond the Normal to Identify Emerging Disease

The first case of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (Strep. zoo) was identified in the U.S. pig population last fall, and it’s not an organism to be taken lightly. At that time, the clinical signs observed in pigs included “lethargy, weakness, high fever, swift spread among pigs from highly varied sources within the affected premises and rapidly escalating mortality levels approaching 30% to 50%,” reported the USDA. “Although rare, it can cause severe illness in humans exposed to infected horses or other infected species. This includes exposure through consumption of associated unpasteurized milk products.”