The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving ranchers and others more time to comment on a proposal that would require electronic identification when certain cattle and bison are moved between states.

The proposed rule — titled “Use of Electronic Identification Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison” and meant to “strengthen animal disease traceability regulations” — was announced Jan. 18 and the comment period was set to end Monday.

However, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Harriet Hageman, were among those who asked for more time, requesting a 30-day extension to accommodate Wyoming’s ranchers.

“Cattle producers in Wyoming are about to become very busy with calving season as the weather warms, and many simply do not have even a brief few minutes to spare to submit comments on the proposed rule,” Barrasso, Lummis and Hageman wrote in a March 15 letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack. The department announced Friday that it would extend the comment period out to April 19.

In their letter, Hageman, Lummis and Barrasso also said the proposed rule would disproportionately impact Wyoming, which “has very little in the way of in-state slaughter or confined feeding capacity.”

“The overwhelming majority of Wyoming’s cattle are raised on the open range,” they wrote. “When producers are ready to sell their stock, especially if they are selling to a feeder or directly to a slaughterhouse, a significant number of Wyoming cattle are sold and shipped out-of-state. They are sent to states located in the Midwest and south-central regions of the country, where the majority of America’s feeding and slaughter capacities are located.”

The USDA has said it’s seeking comments about how its proposal would impact producers and how its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service can help implement the proposed changes. To view the proposal or to submit comments, visit www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2021-0020-0001. More than 850 comments had been received as of Friday.