On Thursday the South Dakota Senate passed HB 1096 which allows producers the right to choose how to best identify the animals within their herds. South Dakota Stock Growers Association Executive Director James Halverson says this bill offers necessary protection to South Dakota Livestock producers from government overreach.

He says he feels the current system of animal identification is working well and notes it was an agreed-upon process.

Halvorsen says producers are not opposed to electronic identification, but just want the freedom to choose what options work best for their operation.

The bill still needs to be signed by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to go into effect, but the South Dakota Stock Growers Association does not foresee that as an issue.