The rules, according to those interviewed by the Star-Tribune, were just what producers today hoped they would be, written in a way that was intended to be cost-effective and flexible for the livestock producers.

The final rules weren’t, in fact, final, and several years later, the USDA has attempted to amend those regulations with a requirement for ranchers who engage in interstate commerce to use RFIDs or face significant consequences. In the lawsuit, attorneys for the ranchers argue that the USDA’s new rules did not follow the process that was followed when creating those 2013 rules – essentially, creating guidelines to punish ranchers for not following a set of rules that were never formally approved into law.

In Wyoming, this is a problem.

Situated next to two strong cattle producing-states and with no processing plants of its own, Wyoming’s livestock producers often find themselves relying on states like Nebraska and Kansas, whose ranchers – if processing their beef in-state – would be exempt from the new law. With a new RFID requirement, Wyoming ranchers would now find themselves on an uneven playing field with competitors who are sometimes located only a few miles across the border, putting Wyoming beef at a competitive disadvantage.