The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $615,000 to the state Agriculture Department for a pilot study to track cattle using radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags attached to the ear.

Pennsylvania is one of 29 states participating in the 12-month study. State Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolf said the technology promises to allow animal movements to be rapidly traced in the event of a disease outbreak.

The tagged animal can be identified when it passes by a sensor; this information can then be electronically transferred into databases as the animal moves from the farm through various production and marketing channels to packing and rendering plants.