Ear tag

NCLA’s Suit Forces USDA to Abandon Efforts to Use Guidance to Mandate RFID Eartags for Livestock

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Federal Advisory Committee Act, Radio-frequency identification, Livestock, FACA, Ear tag, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Articles, Animals, Technology

They will thus abandon their prior attempt to replace the rule with guidance, which has been at the root of NCLAs lawsuit against the agencies.

Key Points: 
  • They will thus abandon their prior attempt to replace the rule with guidance, which has been at the root of NCLAs lawsuit against the agencies.
  • Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by excluding opponents of RFID eartags from USDAs advisory committee.
  • If NCLAs ongoing FACA lawsuit succeeds, USDA will not be able to use any of the recommendations or information obtained from the advisory committee in proposing a new RFID rule.
  • For the past two years the USDA and APHIS have tried to run roughshod over the rights of Americas cattle producers.

NCLA Brief Accuses USDA and APHIS of Establishing Unlawful Federal Advisory Committees on RFID

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Radio-frequency identification, Telecommunications engineering, Technology, Articles, Barcodes, Forest certification, Pharmaceuticals policy, Systems engineering, Traceability, Federal Advisory Committee Act, Ear tag, PTC

In their attempt to unlawfully mandate radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags on livestock destined for market, USDA and APHIS set up two advisory committees to assist their RFID efforts, the Cattle Traceability Working Group (CTWG) and the Producer Traceability Council (PTC).

Key Points: 
  • In their attempt to unlawfully mandate radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags on livestock destined for market, USDA and APHIS set up two advisory committees to assist their RFID efforts, the Cattle Traceability Working Group (CTWG) and the Producer Traceability Council (PTC).
  • NCLAs brief criticizes the Defendants decision to establish and utilize advisory committees without complying with FACAs procedural requirements, as well as their decision to exclude from participation anyone who opposed the RFID requirements.
  • Defendants have taken the position that they neither established nor utilized the CTWG and PTC advisory committees within the meaning of FACA.
  • NCLA is asking the court to recognize the CTWG and PTC as federal advisory committees set up by USDA.

Globalstar Signs Agreement With Ceres Tag, the World’s Only Direct to Satellite Livestock Smart Ear Tag

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Data management, Satellite, Technology, Agriculture, Telecommunications, Mobile, Wireless, Natural Resources, Technology, Science and technology, Articles, Radio-frequency identification, Satellite telephony, Globalstar, Qualcomm, Livestock, Ear tag, Internet of things, Ceres, Traceability

Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE American: GSAT) (Globalstar or the Company) today announced that it has signed a commercial agreement with Ceres Tag, to supply satellite services to the livestock industry through the worlds first and only smart ear tag for traceability provenance, biosecurity, health, animal welfare, production improvement and theft reduction.

Key Points: 
  • Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE American: GSAT) (Globalstar or the Company) today announced that it has signed a commercial agreement with Ceres Tag, to supply satellite services to the livestock industry through the worlds first and only smart ear tag for traceability provenance, biosecurity, health, animal welfare, production improvement and theft reduction.
  • The Ceres Tag platform uses the unique capabilities of Globalstar to produce a small and light weight (just over one ounce) smart ear tag that attaches to the animal and automatically sends the data to the cloud via the Globalstar Satellite Network.
  • Kagan added, With this partnership, Globalstar will be one of the worlds largest providers of LEO satellite enabled IoT solutions.
  • Ceres Tag is a privately held leading comprehensive animal monitoring company using automated direct to satellite information from their unique miniature proprietary on animal sensors.

NCLA Sues USDA for Violating Federal Advisory Committee Act in Developing RFID Tech Mandate

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 6, 2020
Radio-frequency identification, Automatic identification and data capture, Privacy, Ubiquitous computing, Wireless, Telecommunications engineering, Articles, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Ear tag, Traceability, Telecommunications

NCLA client Kenny Fox was a member of the CTWG and a vocal critic of its proposals to require radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags.

Key Points: 
  • NCLA client Kenny Fox was a member of the CTWG and a vocal critic of its proposals to require radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags.
  • The CTWG was ultimately dissolved in the Spring of 2019 and replaced with the Producers Traceability Council (PTC) advisory committee to provide similar recommendations to APHIS.
  • Even though USDA and APHIS removed the 2019 Factsheet from their website, their efforts to implement the policy might resume.
  • This review will ensure that any future efforts to adopt the RFID requirement are not unlawfully tainted by such materials.

NCLA Uncovers Ongoing Efforts to Require Livestock Producers to Use RFID Eartags

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 28, 2020
Radio-frequency identification, Automatic identification and data capture, Privacy, Ubiquitous computing, Wireless, Ear tag, Telecommunications, Equipment, Technology

The motion seeks to block ongoing efforts to rely upon an unlawful guidance document to mandate the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking technology on livestock.

Key Points: 
  • The motion seeks to block ongoing efforts to rely upon an unlawful guidance document to mandate the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking technology on livestock.
  • v. USDA et al.,which dismissed the lawsuit upon her concluding that the agencies had fully withdrawn their previous efforts to require livestock producers to use RFID eartags.
  • Nevertheless, NCLA recently found an informational page nearly identical to the Factsheet published in the February 2020 edition ofNebraska Cattlemanmagazine announcing that RFID eartags will become mandatory, albeit through a phased approach.
  • NCLA argued that such a move was necessary to ensure that any future efforts to adopt the RFID requirement are not tainted by such materials.

Hamburger Group Sues to Protect Cattle Ranchers from USDA’s Unlawful RFID Animal Identification Mandate

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 4, 2019
Livestock, Articles, Automatic identification and data capture, Ear tag, Radio-frequency identification, Identification, Animal identification, Traceability, Tattoo, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Computing

The 2013 Final Rule was designed to protect producers right to use low-cost technologies related to animal identification and traceability that have been used for generations and are both flexible and adaptable.

Key Points: 
  • The 2013 Final Rule was designed to protect producers right to use low-cost technologies related to animal identification and traceability that have been used for generations and are both flexible and adaptable.
  • But just six years later, the 2019 RFID mandate requires the least flexible and costliest identification methodology available.
  • The mandate forces cattle producers to put the RFID ear tags on livestock destined for market and to do away with animal identification options that up to now had been perfectly acceptable, including tattoos, backtags, permanent metal eartags, brands, and group/lot identification.
  • Now USDA and APHIS want Americas ranchers to disrupt their operations and comply with a new mandate that has not gone through proper channels.