Overview: Legislation passed in 2019 resulted in significant changes to the laws and processes regarding brand inspection and individual livestock identification. These changes include different fees and some strong incentives to move to electronic livestock identification and reporting in lieu of using brand inspectors. Dairy farmers should consider using some of these options to lower fees and reduce the need for brand inspectors.

Background and Approach: Most dairy farmers do not need, use, or want to brand animals. Some producers (around 15%) do brand. In our conversations with legislators and stakeholders, we respected the needs of both segments of our membership. We sought to preserve brand options for producers who want branding for asset protection, while also ensuring that producers who do not brand are not forced to pay for a program they do not use. We advocated for additional program efficiencies, options such as electronic reporting, and efficient and accurate individual animal traceability for disease prevention, traceability, and commerce.

What happened during the 2019 legislative session? After more than a year of discussions about this legislation, wide differences still existed between our approach, what the Cattlemen wanted, and what the Washington State Department of Agriculture would accept. The Cattlemen wanted a brand program. WSDA wanted to make sure the brand program was adequately funded. There were serious attempts to modernize animal traceability to respond to disease outbreaks.

The final version of the legislation (ESSB 5959) includes some of these components. The final text of ESSB 5959 can be found here: http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5959-S.SL.pdf#page=1.

Unfortunately, ESSB 59595 placed disproportionately higher fees onto unbranded and unidentified animals to pay for brand inspection services at WSDA. We did not support the final bill because farmers who do not use the brand program should not be forced to pay for it.

Details of Major Changes in ESSB 5959: The new law has some options that will benefit most dairy farmers, including ways to reduce fees to support the brand program.

• New Fees: On July 28, 2019, new fees will be implemented at all points of “brand inspection.” 
  • For livestock with electronic official individual identification (currently an 840 RFI tag) or branded livestock, the inspection fee will be $1.21 per head. (This is a fee reduction of 39 cents for farmers who have been selling 840 tagged animals.)
  • The fee goes from $1.60 to $4.00 for “slick” animals (i.e., animals not identified with either a brand or electronic official individual identification.)
  • If you call a brand inspector out to your farm to oversee a cattle transaction, there will be an additional “call out fee” of $20 (which may be more or less than the previous “time and mileage” charges that were eliminated). Private parties can be certified as brand inspectors, in addition to the previous allowance for veterinarians to do brand inspections. Regardless of who does the inspection (a private party or WSDA), the fees are the same. Unfortunately and illogically, the “call out fee” goes to WSDA even if a private inspector or veterinarian provides the service.
• Electronic Reporting: There are expanded options and incentives for using the Electronic Cattle Transaction Reporting (ECTR) system. The ECTR system website can be found here: https://agr.wa.gov/departments/animals-livestock-and-pets/livestock/ectr. As of June 19, 2019, the ECTR website had not been updated to reflect the recent legislative changes.
  • ESSB 5959 expands ECTR to all animals – branded or not. It is expanded beyond just dairy and in-state transactions. The definition of ownership is broadened to recognize electronic official individual identification as proof of ownership, including proof of ownership for out of state transactions.
  • The changes to ECTR eliminate the need for a state brand inspector and brand fees for anyone selling animals with official 840 tags. ECTR is only when you sell livestock with official 840 tags. If you still have tags that start with the number 982, these tags are not official. You should consider asking your tag supplier to switch your tags to 840’s.
  • As the use and volume of the ECTR system increases, the fees must, by law, decline to match the costs of WSDA to administer ECTR. Since ECTR fees are not used to support the brand inspection system, ECTR costs should remain steady or even decrease with more usage. $1.30 is current ECTR fee, and we will insist WSDA reduce fees to match expense as volume increase. We expect ECTR fees to decrease to around 60-70 cents, with no call out fees and no need to call a livestock inspector. For these reasons, we recommend producers use ECTR for livestock sales.
• Sunset: Major portions of the bill related to fees expire July 1, 2023, due to uncertainty about financing the program after so many policy changes and due to future animal ID changes from USDA (see below).

Other Changes Pertaining to Livestock ID and Inspections:

• USDA will be charging for the metal Bangs tags starting January 1, 2020.
• After December 2020, USDA will no longer issue metal Bangs tags and is moving to recognize only 840 numbered official RFI tags. In 2023 USDA will require 840 tags as proof of Bangs vaccination. Metal tags will not be recognized.
• If you put 840 tags in at birth or for management use, there is now a way for your veterinarian to “electronically report” that tag number as Bangs vaccinated. You do not need the orange USDA issued RFI Bangs tag. Some producers may want to wait to put in 840 Bangs tags when they vaccinate, but you also have the option of putting in any color button or an 840 RFI dangle tag and ask your veterinarian to report that tag number as vaccinated.
• The bottom line is that you should make sure you are using some version of an RFI tag that is an 840 numbered “official tag.”
• USDA will be issuing rebate certificates of around 50 cents to help producers and veterinarians with the added costs of RFI tags. As we get more information, we will report where and how those certificates are available.