News

NCBA president-elect calls for electronic ID tags

The president-elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says more needs to be done on foreign animal disease traceability.

Todd Wilkinson tells Brownfield NCBA would be supportive of a voluntary electronic identification program, rather than a federal mandate.

“Now the sentiment has really changed across the country,” Wilkinson said. “All we have to do is look to Australia and realize what they are facing from Indonesia, and really the massive nature of foot and mouth disease and how it has spread across all of the other continents.”

He says prevention and preparedness of foot and mouth disease is vital.

“If that gets into our industry and we can’t move quickly to quarantine those areas, it’s going to be devastating on the beef industry,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson says he anticipates the USDA will role out a mandatory electronic ID program for the breeding herd sometime in the near future.

He made his comments to Brownfield at the 2022 Iowa Cattle Industry Leadership Summit.