Citing the need to protect the nation's cattle herd against catastrophic foreign animal diseases and to promote U.S. beef in overseas markets, several speakers drove home the need for traceability.

Bruce Knight, undersecretary of USDA's marketing and regulatory programs, laid out reasons why animal identification and premises registration are critical. An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom last year, he said, was quickly contained because they had an animal ID system in place.

The United States, Knight said, is lagging behind other countries in being able to quickly trace the origin of animals in the event of a catastrophic disease outbreak like foot-and-mouth disease. After trying a run at a mandatory livestock ID system in 2003, federal officials acquiesced to a voluntary program that exists today.

Source: Capital Press