RFID Technology in the National Animal Identification System ...

From APHIS | News ...

... "Q. Will Animal Owners Need to Have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Reader? A. USDA is maintaining a technology neutral position with regard to the technologies that will be used to identify animals. USDA is developing the standards for collecting and reporting information, but industry will determine which type of identification method or methods work best for each species. Radio frequency technology is one form of electronic identification that has been discussed for use with cattle. Animal owners that use RFID for official identification will not necessarily need to have an RFID reader. For example, a producer may be able to record the RFID code of the electronic device before it is applied to an animal and cross reference the code with a visual tag number. This would allow the producer to maintain a record of the RFID code without having to read (scan) the transponder. Industry providers may sell RFID eartag attachments on which the RFID code is printed for visual readability. While reading and recording the RFID code manually is not ideal, it can be achieved. " ...