South Dakota cattle groups weigh in on tracking rules

When federal meat inspectors found bovine tuberculosis in South Dakota cattle earlier this year, the official ear tag paired with that animal helped pinpoint the Harding County herd where the cattle had originated. From there, state animal health officials went to work testing neighboring herds that might have been exposed in an effort to contain the disease that South Dakota had been rid of since 2009. With the tracking system in place, it took weeks instead of months to test potentially exposed animals.Before the current national tracking system was put in place in 2013, officials had to rely on sales records. During the last TB outbreak in 2009, it took South Dakota Animal Industry Board staff 10 months to track buyers and test herds.State veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven said traceability is much better now.