(CN) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture appropriately relied on information provided by industry groups when considering a mandate of pricey radio-frequency ear tags for livestock, a 10th Circuit panel ruled Friday.
Broad use of radio-frequency ear tags would make it easier to track diseases and round up sick livestock, but implementing the technology comes at an estimated $2 billion cost for ranchers.
The Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund and United Stockgrowers of America sued the USDA in 2019 to stop the proposed mandate to put the tags on bison and cattle moving across state lines. The ranchers favor cheap and easy tattoos and brands.
A federal judge initially dismissed the lawsuit in February 2020 when the USDA withdrew a factsheet promoting the change. But the agency continued to mull the mandate. When the USDA asked for industry input, two groups responded: the Cattle Traceability Working Group and the Producers Traceability Council.
The Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund filed to reopen the lawsuit, saying the government violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act for relying on input from what it saw as biased groups cherrypicked by the government. The judge dismissed the amended complaint, and the ranchers appealed.
But on Friday, the 10th Circuit affirmed the dismissal.
"We agree with the district court that there is no basis to conclude that defendants either ‘established’ or ‘utilized’ the Cattle Traceability Working Group or Producers Traceability Council within the meaning of the Federal Advisory Committee Act,” wrote Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Mary Beck Briscoe in a 46-page opinion.
“Consequently, we reject plaintiffs’ requests to direct the entry of judgment in their favor. Instead, we affirm the district court’s decision in its entirety,” the Bill Clinton appointee wrote for the panel.
A key issue was whether the federal government established the committees in question, or whether it merely used their input.
“The evidence in the record quite clearly indicates that both the Cattle Traceability Working Group and Producers Traceability Council were formed by and composed of industry leaders,” Briscoe wrote.
While members of the groups met and communicated with federal employees, the panel found no evidence supported that either working group was managed by the USDA.
U.S. Circuit Judges Jerome Holmes, a George W. Bush appointee, and Nancy Moritz, a Barack Obama appointee, rounded out the panel.
Follow @bright_lamp
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
