VIEWPOINT | Conspiracies theories don't sway federal ag regulations

Guest column by Eric Jennings, former president of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association

It’s puzzling how much attention the new traceability rule that requires electronic identification (EID) tags is garnering now that it has been fully implemented. I am puzzled because the time for attention would have been during the comment period when the rule was proposed. To recap, disease traceability rules have been in place since 2013, and the current version of the rule, updating the type of tag required, was proposed in January of 2023 and wasn’t finalized until April of 2024. Those 15 months would have been time to get involved in the rulemaking process, not after it has been implemented.

Now that the rule has been finalized and fully implemented, some cattle and marketing associations held rallies and asked county commissions to pass resolutions opposing the use of EID tags. They can’t dispute that EIDs will greatly improve the speed and accuracy of disease traceability. Their reasons against the use of EID tags have little to do with the facts. Instead, they’ve created conspiracy theories involving climate change and price manipulation. Passing local county resolutions or spreading anti-EID propaganda will not persuade the federal government to change the current disease traceability rule.

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