The president of Nebraska Cattlemen says cattle producers must settle their differences like a family.

Families often disagree, says Allen Bright of Antioch, but they figure out a way to get along.

That has been difficult because of disagreements over issues such as country-of-origin labeling (COOL) and animal identification.

There is renewed urgency for an animal identification system since the announcement of the country's first case of mad cow disease.

Bright says some producers think COOL should be voluntary and others want a mandatory system established immediately.

Many cattle producers are looking at an identification system for the first time, even though the basic components have been around for years.

Bright says the industry will benefit if an identification system is used along with other safety measures as a quality assurance program.