Volume 41 - Issue 6 - February 10, 2022

State of Kansas

Department of Agriculture
Division of Animal Health

Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulation

The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) will conduct a public hearing at 10:00 a.m. April 13, 2022, to consider the adoption of a proposed regulation. Due to the public health concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing proceedings will be conducted virtually via video conferencing system only. Anyone desiring to participate in the public hearing via video conference must pre-register at https://kansasag.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqf-Cgpj8uHtcOpr9Dcy9MEYW8aiCnjGou.

This 60-day notice of the public hearing shall constitute a public comment period for the purpose of receiving written public comments regarding the proposed regulation. All interested parties may submit written comments prior to the hearing by mail or email to: Kansas Department of Agriculture, Attn: Ronda Hutton, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502 or ronda.hutton@ks.gov. All interested parties will also be given a reasonable opportunity to orally present their views regarding the adoption of the proposed regulation during the hearing. In order to give all parties an opportunity to present their views, it may be necessary to request that each participant limit any oral presentation to five minutes. This regulation is proposed for adoption on a permanent basis. A summary of the proposed regulation and its economic impact follows:

K.A.R. 9-2-36 – The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) is proposing a new regulation pertaining to the cost of official calfhood vaccination tags, which provide a voluntary method for cattle producers to indicate that a heifer has been vaccinated for brucellosis by an accredited veterinarian. Accredited veterinarians purchase official calfhood vaccination tags from KDA and sell them to producers who wish to utilize them. The proposed regulation implements amendments to K.S.A. 47-1831 that were enacted during the 2021 legislative session and allow the Animal Health Commissioner to recoup the actual cost of each official calfhood vaccination tag and to charge an additional processing fee of $0.20 for each official calfhood vaccination tag. The processing fee allows the Animal Health Commissioner to recover expenses associated with the shipping and handling of official calfhood vaccination tags.

Economic Impact Statement:

The proposed regulation is not mandated by the federal government. KDA is not aware of any similar regulation pertaining to official calfhood vaccination tags in place in contiguous states. State-administered official calfhood vaccination tag programs are new in general, as the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) has historically provided tags to accredited veterinarians free of charge but will now cease to do so.

KDA does not anticipate that the proposed regulation will significantly enhance or restrict business activity or growth in Kansas because the proposed regulation only authorizes KDA to recoup the actual cost of each official calfhood vaccination tag purchased by an accredited veterinarian and to collect a $0.20 shipping and handling fee to recoup overhead expenses currently being carried by KDA. Additionally, the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Animal Health Board, the Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, the Kansas Veterinary Medicine Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, and Kansas State University Research and Extension were consulted throughout the development of this regulation and did not express concern that the proposed regulation would restrict their members’ business activities or growth.

The average annual implementation and compliance costs of this regulation will be approximately $7,754.25. This cost will be imposed on accredited veterinarians who purchase official calfhood vaccination tags and will likely be passed on to cattle producers who elect to utilize the tags. However, the overall direct impact on Kansas businesses as a result of this proposed regulation will be minimal because the use of official calfhood vaccination tags is voluntary and the cost per tag is relatively small. In the past four years, KDA has distributed 19,265 official calfhood vaccination tags. Based on this number of tags, the $0.20 per tag processing fee proposed in the regulation would result in average annual processing costs of $963.25. Based on the same number of tags and the average actual cost of an official calfhood vaccination tag, which is $1.41, the proposed regulation would result in an average annual actual cost of $6,791 for official calfhood vaccination tags. Accordingly, the proposed regulation will have a minimal effect on the state economy as a whole.

The benefits of the proposed regulation outweigh the costs. The regulation will allow KDA to cover its costs in processing and shipping official calfhood vaccination tags, ensuring KDA is able to offer the tags to Kansas producers. KDA’s ability to offer official calfhood vaccination tags is beneficial because the tags provide a cost-effective means for Kansas producers to provide assurance that their cattle have been vaccinated against an infectious disease that has the potential to damage the beef industry. Therefore, the tags promote security and confidence in the industry at a reasonable price to producers.

Further, KDA has entered into contractual agreements with ear tag suppliers that will allow KDA to offer official calfhood vaccination tags to accredited veterinarians at an economical price. Additionally, the $0.20 per tag processing fee imposed by the regulation will not allow KDA to profit from its processing and shipping of tags – it is only enough to allow KDA to cover the costs it incurs in performing those activities. Moreover, accredited veterinarians are not required to utilize the official calfhood vaccination tags offered by KDA – they may provide producers with metal tags to confirm brucellosis vaccination, which will continue to be provided by USDA free of charge.

KDA does not anticipate that the proposed regulation will significantly increase or decrease the revenues of Kansas cities, counties, or school districts, or impose functions or responsibilities on cities, counties or school districts that will increase their expenditures or fiscal liability. Letters were sent to the League of Kansas Municipalities, the Kansas Association of School Boards, and the Kansas Association of Counties inquiring as to whether those entities believed the proposed regulation would impose increased costs or responsibilities on their members. No responses were received from those entities.

Additionally, both during the development of the amendments to K.S.A. 47-1831 that authorize this regulation and during development of the regulation itself, KDA engaged with state and local government representatives and numerous industry stakeholders, soliciting input from the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Animal Health Board, the Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, the Kansas Veterinary Medicine Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, and Kansas State University Research and Extension.

The proposed regulation presents no environmental impact.

Any individual with a disability may request accommodations to participate in the public hearing and may request the proposed regulation and economic impact statement in an accessible format. Requests for accommodations should be made at least five working days in advance of the hearing by contacting Ronda Hutton, via telephone at 785-564-6715 or via fax at 785-564-6777.

Copies of the regulation and its economic impact statement may be obtained by contacting KDA via mail at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Attn: Ronda Hutton, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502, via telephone at 785-564-6715, or at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov. Comments may also be made at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/document-services/public-comment.

Mike Beam
Secretary

Doc. No. 049809