Livestock 28-hour law timer: unload-by time and rest stops

The rule the timer uses

• 28 hours: animals may not be confined in a vehicle for more than 28 consecutive hours without unloading for feed, water and rest. Source
• 36 hours on request: the limit runs to 36 hours when the owner or custodian asks in writing, separately from the bill of lading. Source
• 5 hours of rest: unloaded animals rest in pens with feed and water for at least 5 consecutive hours, and loading and unloading time doesn't count toward the limit. Source

USDA enforces the law, with rules in 9 CFR Part 89. Source

How the timer works

The clock starts when loading finishes. Trip time is the miles divided by your average moving speed, plus the time for fuel, inspections and driver breaks, because the animals stay on the trailer through all of them. If the trip fits inside the limit, the timer shows the margin. If not, it adds the rest stops needed, each at least five hours, and shows the new arrival time.

Worked example EXAMPLE

Feeder cattle finish loading in Texas at 6:00 Monday for a 1,100-mile run north. At 52 mph moving, plus three hours for fuel and breaks, the trip takes about 24 hours, arriving around 6:00 Tuesday, four hours inside the 28-hour limit. Add a weather delay of five hours and the load would pass the limit, which means either a written request for 36 hours or a rest stop at pens along the way. Planning that before the cattle are loaded is far easier than at 3 a.m. on the road.

The 28-hour law and driver hours

Two clocks run on a livestock load: the animals' and the driver's. A solo driver may drive 11 hours Source within a 14-hour window Source, then needs a 10-hour break. On a 24-hour run, that break comes long before the animals' limit, which is why long livestock runs often use team drivers. Agricultural hours-of-service exemptions apply near the source and the destination during each state's planting and harvest periods Source, but they don't change the animals' limit.

Planning rest stops

• Know where the rest facilities are on your route before you load: sale barns, feedlots and stockyards with pens, feed and water.
• Call ahead; facilities need notice and may charge for pens and feed.
• Budget the time: unloading, at least five hours of rest, then reloading.
• Record the times: when loading finished, when animals were unloaded, and when they were reloaded.

Weather and the clock

Weather eats margin on livestock runs in two ways. Storms, snow and closed passes slow the truck and add hours to the confinement clock. Heat and cold change how long animals can stay on board comfortably, whatever the law allows. In summer, plan to keep the trailer moving through the hottest hours and avoid long stops in the sun; in winter, set vents and boards for the cold and plan around mountain closures. Leave more margin in both seasons than the timer shows.

Records to keep on every load

• The time loading finished, from the shipper's paperwork or your log.
• Any written request for 36 hours, kept apart from the bill of lading.
• Times animals were unloaded and reloaded at any rest stop, and where.
• The delivery time, signed by the receiver.

If the trip is ever questioned, those four records answer it.

Checking the animals en route

At every fuel stop, walk the trailer: look for animals that are down, crowded against a gate or struggling for footing, and check that vents and boards are set right for the weather and the animals have room to stand. A down animal on a long run is a welfare problem and can become a claim. Note what you find and what you did about it.

What the result means

Green means the planned trip fits inside the limit with the margin shown; keep an eye on delays. Red means the trip as planned would break the limit: get a written 36-hour request if it fits within that, or plan rest stops. The timer is a planning aid; weather, breakdowns and delays at the destination all use up margin, so build some in.

Read more in cattle hauling and livestock hauling rules by state. When you dispatch with us, we check every livestock load against both clocks before we call. See livestock dispatch.