There is a movement undergoing to apply RFID tags on all cattle in U.S. by 2009 but there are some people who believe that RFID would not serve the purpose and they are already trying to find alternatives to it. This was reported by my friend at wireless report, Michael.

Since RFID tags can broadcast information over a short range, many beef producers are of the opinion that it would not be possible to accurately track their cattle as they travel in close proximity and accurate readings might not be possible. There seems to be a growing faith in ZigBee technology which is believed provides readings from longer distances and which can turn out to be more effective and cheaper to implement.

Probably any wireless tracking system would do but it should help in identifying cases of mad cow disease which a growing menace in the cattle.