Swine producers and state animal health officials can now order radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags at www.840swinetags.com—at no cost!
According to USDA Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the tags are shipped directly from Merck Animal Health to your premises with no middle steps, ultimately expediting getting tags into producers’ hands and pigs’ ears.
For producers, all you need to have to get your order going is a valid premises ID and your sow or show pig count. For state animal health officials, head to the website knowing the number of sows in your state. APHIS says that’s all it takes to get the order going.
What is the Swine Identification Initiative?
First announced in August 2025, this initiative—modeled after the successful no-cost RFID cattle tag program—aims to strengthen national swine disease traceability, APHIS explains.
“While traceability does not prevent disease, it significantly reduces the time needed to respond to outbreaks, helping to limit the number of affected farms and animals,” APHIS explains. “This, in turn, minimizes economic impacts on producers and their communities.”
In July 2025, APHIS awarded a contract to Merck Animal Health to supply up to $20 million in tags to sow and exhibition swine industry segments, over the next five years. Read more here.
APHIS notes that these RFID tags will need to be applied with a compatible tag applicator, which is not supplied through this program.
