Animal disease traceability — knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are, where they've been, and when — is important to ensure a rapid response when animal disease events take place. An efficient and accurate animal disease traceability system helps reduce the number of animals involved in an investigation, reduces the time needed to respond, and decreases the cost to producers and the government.

The federal Traceability for Livestock Moved Interstate rule, effective March 2013, established minimum national official identification and documentation requirements for the traceability of livestock moving interstate. The species covered in the rule include cattle and bison, sheep and goats, swine, horses and other equines, captive cervids (e.g., deer and elk), and poultry. When these animals move interstate, unless otherwise exempt, they must be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection (ICVI) or other movement document agreed upon by both the sending and receiving states.

USDA APHIS hosted a series of public meetings across the country in 2017 to hear from the public about the successes and challenges of the current ADT framework, specifically for traceability in cattle and bison. For a summary of feedback on the ADT Program, click here.

Official Livestock Identification Reference Deck

Download a printable version of the Official Livestock Identification Reference Deck here. This reference is a species-specific guide to Kansas- and USDA-approved official identification, including where to source ear tags.

Producers may apply official identification to their own animals before they are transported interstate, and metal ear tags are available at approved tag distributors across Kansas. Click here for a list of tag distributors in your area.

Under the final rule, unless specifically exempted, livestock moved interstate must be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection or other documentation, such as an owner-shipper statement.
 
For more specific details about the regulation, visit the USDA-APHIS Traceability website, or call the Kansas Animal Health office at 785-564-6601.

Full text of the USDA-APHIS Traceability for Livestock Moved Interstate Final Rule published in the Federal Register can be found here.

More information about the existing ADT rule as it pertains to cattle can be found in the ADT Factsheet for Cattle.

The requirements do not apply to livestock moving:
     •      Entirely within Tribal land that straddles a State line and the Tribe has a separate 
             traceability system from the States in which its lands are located
     •      To a custom slaughter facility in accordance with Federal and State regulations for
             preparation of meat

Other exemptions are applied on a species-specific basis.

Earlier this year, KDA and USDA collaborated to provide RFID ear tags at no cost to accredited veterinarians. The FY2023 Kansas allocation through USDA’s no-cost program is 287,000 RFID tags. At this time, there is some uncertainty how far into the future this program will exist.

• Two colors of low frequency tags are available to order: white and orange. White tags may be used in dairy cows, bulls, and replacement animals. Orange tags are only for use when brucellosis vaccinating.
• Animals intended for feeding purposes only are not eligible for these tags.
• Currently, no ultra high frequency tags are available through this program.
• Tags are ordered in bags of 1,000 and are currently shipping weekly. Orders should provide tags for the upcoming year and not be stockpiled. It is our intent that these tags reach as many operations as possible.
• You must have a federal premises identification number to order.

To receive these free tags, reach out to your private veterinarian for placing the order. Accredited veterinarians in Kansas have received the ordering information.

For additional details, contact the KDA Animal Health program at 785-564-6606.

On March 25, 2019, APHIS updated its scrapie regulations and program standards, which included updating identification requirements for goats and certain recordkeeping requirements for sheep and goats. These rules apply to sheep or goats that are moving or have moved in interstate commerce, that have resided on premises where interstate commerce is conducted, or that are owned by people who engage in interstate commerce. This includes animals moved though markets or other sites where interstate commerce occurs even if the particular animal has not left the state.

For detailed information, click the links below to reference each document:

• USDA Scrapie Tag Guidance
• Key Points on Sheep and Goat ID
• Sheep & Goat ID Flow Chart
• Sheep & Goat Official ID Handout

USDA's Sheep and Goat Identification webpage with additional resources may be accessed by clicking here.

Digital technology continues to develop and helps with multiple aspects of our daily lives. Multiple options are available to aid veterinarians with increased accuracy and convenience. A few of the benefits of electronic options for CVI include: utilizing equipment already on-hand (smartphones, tablets, computers), no postage stamps, no trips to the post office, automatic submission to the DAH office (with some electronic options).

To learn more about electronic CVIs, including how to get started and equipment needed, click here.

KDA is proud to participate in U.S. Cattle Trace, a public/private partnership to create a pilot project to test a cattle disease traceability system. Read more about U.S. Cattle Trace at their website, uscattletrace.org.