U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer in Washington, D.C., dismissed a civil suit filed by the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and a group of Michigan cattlemen against USDA and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) over the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The group's suit, filed last September, sought to enjoin the implementation and enforcement of NAIS.

Collyer ruled that NAIS is neither federal law nor federal regulation. “It is an identification and tracking program developed by USDA and adopted by state agriculture departments on a voluntary basis,” she wrote.

Since March 1, 2007, MDA has required all cattle to be identified with radio-frequency ID ear tags prior to movement from premises. The rule was made to help the state battle bovine tuberculosis.