U.S. Rep. Hageman blasts new ear tag rule

“This rule is a solution in search of a problem,” U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) said, criticizing a final rule making that mandates a new kind of cattle ear tag. 

The congresswoman issued a press release May 9 that explains her position on the issue and the negative effects she predicts for Wyoming’s cattle industry.  Her complaints included increased cost for ranchers, disproportionate impact on small cattle producers, and no apparent positive effect on beef production.

The new tags were mandated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in a rule titled “Use of Electronic Identification Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison.”  The rule mandates ear tags that can be both visually and electronically readable for both cattle and bison.

Stew Marsh, vice president of Cody-based Y-Tex, said “It is our position that if it helps producers to improve their herd and profitability and they can use the technology, that it is fine, but we leave it up to the industry to decide the rules.”  Y-TEX is one of the largest retail ear tag manufacturers in the United States.

Hageman wrote that APHIS had “barreled ahead in a manner that ignores the interests, expertise and opposition of America’s ranchers, and to instead enforce mandates developed by D.C. bureaucrats who have never worked cows, taken care of livestock, or tried to make a living in a low-margin industry.”

In one of her op-eds opposing the rule, Hageman said she feared the proposed Radio Frequency Identification program “would invite limitless incremental regulation from other agencies.” As examples of how this might happen, she offered the Securities and Exchange Commission’s E.S.G. requirements and the Food and Drug Agency’s rules for antibiotic usage to illustrate how regulatory mandates begat more mandates.

In its final rule, APHIS said “the ability to trace animals accurately and rapidly does not prevent disease epidemics… .”

APHIS proposed the rule in January of this year. Hageman said she has opposed the rule and sought to block it using the budget process and writing three op-eds. 

She said in her press release that she would issue a joint resolution of disapproval pursuant to the Congressional Review Act in the coming weeks. The act empowers Congress to review rule making by executive agencies and overturn it with a joint resolution within a 60 legislative-day window. 

Hageman summarized the APHIS rule making by calling it “Just one more situation where government is always trying to fix its last solution.”