SH: Thanks for the good reply to Kenny. I come from a brand state and you both make good arguments about using brands for traceback. We have proven that by using only brands we can trace an individual animal to the seller in 48 hours. We got a statement included in the USAIO guidelines that states that any electronic or radio frequency ID system cannot be used to prove ownership (tags, chips etc can be cut out and changed). SH you are correct in you statement that there are duplications in brands among different states. We feel that the way around that is to put a line on the form entered into the database that would include the brand inspection number.