United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Animal and 

Plant Health 

Inspection 

Service

July 2014

Analysis in Support of Certification that the 

Rule will not have a Significant Economic 

Impact on a Substantial Number of Small 

Entities

Final Rule

APHIS 09-083-3

RIN 0579-AD22

Brucellosis Class Free States and Certified 

Brucellosis-Free Herds; Revisions to Testing 

and Certification Requirements

Policy & Program Development

Policy Analysis & Development
i

Summary

On December 27, 2010, APHIS published in the Federal Register an interim rule with the 

overall objective of refocusing resources to control and prevent the spread of brucellosis. One of 

the changes that the 2010 interim rule made to the brucellosis regulations contained in 9 CFR 

part 78 was to require that all sexually intact cattle and bison 6 months of age and older be 

included in all herd blood tests. This final rule changes the age at which all sexually intact cattle 

and domestic bison are included in herd blood tests from 6 months to 18 months.

With this rule, producers will forgo payment of testing fees for sexually intact animals 

between 6 and 18 months of age when performing whole herd tests. For both elective and 

program-required herd blood tests, increasing the minimum testing age will benefit producers by 

(i) reducing the number of animals required to be tested and therefore the time and labor 

expended in gathering and handling animals for testing, and (ii) eliminating any stress-induced

weight loss related to herd blood testing of sexually intact animals between 6 and 18 months of 

age. In recent years, about one-half million head of cattle have been included in herd blood tests 

annually. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of this testing has been elective.

Based on Small Business Administration standards and data from the 2012 Census of 

Agriculture, the majority of beef and dairy operations are small. This rule will result in cost 

savings for many of these operations, and will not have a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.
ii

Table of Contents

Summary.............................................................................................................................. i

Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1

The Cattle, Bison, and Dairy Industries.............................................................................. 1

Potential Impacts................................................................................................................. 3
1

Introduction 

On December 27, 2010, APHIS published in the Federal Register an interim rule with the 

overall objective of refocusing resources to control and prevent the spread of brucellosis. One of 

the changes that the 2010 interim rule made to the brucellosis regulations contained in 9 CFR 

part 78 was to require that all sexually intact cattle and bison 6 months of age and older be 

included in all herd blood tests. Prior to this change, sexually intact cattle and bison that had 

been vaccinated were only required to be included in herd blood tests if they were 20 months of 

age or older and a dairy breed, or 24 months of age or older and a beef breed.

This rule changes the age at which all sexually intact cattle and domestic bison are 

included in herd blood tests from 6 months to 18 months, except when conducting herd blood 

tests as part of affected herd investigations or other epidemiological investigations or when the 

Administrator determines testing at a younger age is necessary to prevent the spread of 

brucellosis.1 This analysis provides the basis, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, for 

certification by the APHIS Administrator that the rule will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small entities. 

The Cattle, Bison, and Dairy Industries

The structure of the cattle industry continues to change, with a greater proportion of cattle 

being raised on fewer and larger farms. Modern beef production in the United States is a highly 

specialized system ranging from cow-calf operators that graze pastureland to cattle feedlots focusing on 

 

1 Vaccinated cattle and bison of any age that are parturient or post-parturient will continue to be included in herd 

blood tests.
2

finishing cattle on grain for slaughter.2 The total number of cattle operations in the United States in 

2012 was 913,246, of which 777,943 were cow-calf operations.3 Over the past 30 years, the 

number of all cattle operations in the United States declined by 33 percent, while beef cow operations 

declined by 19 percent.4 During this time, the average number of cattle per operation has increased by 22

percent to nearly 100 head. In 2012, operations with 500 or more head accounted for over 50 percent of 

the total cattle inventory, compared with only 29 percent in 1982.

There were 162,110 head of bison on 2,564 farms and ranches in the United States in

2012, according to the Census of Agriculture. A total of 1,187 farms and ranches sold 57,335 

head of bison valued at about $94.8 million.5 South Dakota has the most farm-raised bison with 

33,637 head on 104 farms.6

As with the beef cattle industry, the dairy industry in the United States has also 

undergone significant structural change.7 The farm value of milk production is second only to 

beef among livestock industries and is equal to corn. Milk is produced in all 50 States, with the 

major producing States in the West and North. Dairy farms, overwhelmingly family-owned and 

managed, are generally members of producer cooperatives. The industry has seen a consistent 

decline in number of operations, matched by a rise in number of cows per operation. 

 

2 USDA-NASS, Overview of the United States Cattle Industry, Washington, D.C.: National Agricultural Statistics 

Service. Released December 17, 2010. http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/USCatSup/USCatSup-12-17-

2010.pdf.

3 USDA-NASS, Census of Agriculture, 2012.Washington, D.C.: National Agricultural Statistics Service.

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_012_013.pdf

4 USDA-NASS, Census of Agriculture, 1982.Washington, D.C.: National Agricultural Statistics Service.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/AgCensusImages/1982/01/51/121/Table-22.pdf

5 USDA-NASS, Census of Agriculture, 2012. Washington, D.C.: National Agricultural Statistics Service.

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_034_036.pdf

6 USDA-NASS, Census of Agriculture, 2012. Washington, D.C.: National Agricultural Statistics Service. 

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_US_State_Level/st99_2_023_

023.pdf

7 Overview of the United States Dairy Industry, released September 22, 2010.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/USDairyIndus/USDairyIndus-09-22-2010.pdf
3

Between 2002 and 2012, the number of dairy operations with 500 or more head increased 

by 13 percent, from 2,902 to 3,344 establishments. The number of enterprises with 1,000 or 

more head of dairy cows increased by more than 30 percent, rising from 1,256 to 1,807

operations. While the number of larger operations has grown, smaller operations have declined 

in number. Operations with fewer than 500 head fell from 89,087 in 2002, to 60,754 in 2012, a 

decline of 32 percent. Production per cow for both larger and smaller operations continues to 

increase as lower-producing cows are culled from herds and less efficient operations exit the 

industry. 

Potential Impacts

With this rule, producers will forgo payment of testing fees for sexually intact animals 

between 6 and 18 months of age when performing whole herd tests. For both elective and 

program-required herd blood tests, increasing the minimum testing age will benefit producers by 

(i) reducing the number of animals required to be tested and therefore the time and labor 

expended in gathering and handling animals for testing, and (ii) eliminating any stress-induced 

weight loss related to herd blood testing of sexually intact animals between 6 and 18 months of 

age. In recent years, about one-half million head of cattle have been included in herd blood tests 

annually. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of this testing has been elective.

The primary entities that will be affected by this rule are cattle operations. Entities in the 

industry categories of beef cattle ranching and farming (NAICS 112111) and dairy cattle and 

milk production (NAICS 112120) are considered small if their total annual sales do not exceed 

$750,000. Based on Small Business Administration standards and data from the 2012 Census of 

Agriculture, the majority of these entities are small, despite the increase in the percentage of 

larger operations as described in the previous section. Ninety-nine percent of the 619,172 farms 
4

classified under beef cattle ranching and farming had annual sales of less than $750,000. 

Seventy-three percent of the 46,005 farms classified under dairy cattle and milk production are 

classified as small. This rule will result in cost savings for many of these operations, and will not 

have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.