Maryland Department of Agriculture Approves Westminster Livestock Auction as Official Tagging Facility

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has approved the Westminster Livestock Auction as an official tagging facility, which allows the Auction to apply official identification to animals as required by the USDA Animal Disease Traceability Rule (ADT).

The traceability rules are designed to help quickly locate animals involved in a disease outbreak as well as to release unaffected animals from an outbreak investigation. These rules require all animals except feeder beef breeds, to have official identification prior to interstate movement. (Feeder beef breeds are expected to be included in the future.) Animals that are moved interstate to an approved tagging facility are exempted from the official identification requirement provided they are identified upon entry in commerce.

Approved tagging sites can accept animals from other states and allow Maryland animals to move from the facility to most other states without the need for a veterinary inspection, which can be costly. These facilities may charge for tagging services. Owners may avoid charges by tagging their animals prior to leaving the farm and providing those numbers upon entry in the market.

Many larger buyers have expressed their desire for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. While RFID tags are not required, sellers may see an increase in prices for animals that have RFID tags applied prior to sale.

MDA is offering free metal tags for cattle and swine to producers who register their premise(s). More information is available on our website http://mda.maryland.gov/AnimalHealth/Pages/disease-traceability.aspx, or call 410-841-5810.

# # #