IDAIRY urges Congress to implement mandatory animal ID

[Gene Galin]

IDAIRY urges Congress to implement mandatory animal ID
http://www.dairyherd.com/directories.asp?pgID=675&ed_id=8304

At a Congressional hearing Wednesday, the dairy industry renewed calls for a mandatory National Animal Identification System (NAIS) to serve as a collective insurance policy in the event of an animal disease emergency.

Dairy producer and veterinarian Karen Jordan, from Siler City, N.C., testified that the dairy industry “collectively believe(s) that our industry will be best served when all dairy operations, and ultimately, all dairy cows, are identified in a national central database.”

Jordan serves as chairperson of NMPF’s Animal Health & Welfare Committee.

Since 2005, IDairy has worked to make NAIS a reality for the dairy industry. Today, nearly 75 percent of dairy producers participate in NAIS by having their premises registered.

In many states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Utah, Nevada, and South Carolina, more than 90 percent of their dairy producers have participated in premises registration. However, until animal ID becomes mandatory, obtaining the last 25 percent participation will be difficult.

While USDA has pursued a voluntary NAIS program for nearly a decade, the dairy industry has been a prominent supporter of mandatory animal ID. In an animal disease emergency, Jordan says, “the system is only as strong as its weakest link. Now is the time for Congress and USDA to work together to make mandatory animal ID a reality.”

“If this is to truly be a New Era of Responsibility, we need to be mindful that preparing for a quick and effective response to emergencies lies at the heart of responsible animal health system,” concludes Jordan.

For more information on registering your premise or obtaining Official NAIS 840-RFID tags, go to: www.idairy.org

[mosquito]

NAIS is scary enough, but HR 875 looks like a real stinker too.  I'd be weary of Monsanto, Cargill, Tyson, ADM, etc. "looking out for our safety."  Local farmers need less regulation and less interference not more.  These two proposals will hurt small farmers.

white paper on NAIS: http://nicfa.com/WhitePaperNAIS.pdf

Excerpt from the pdf above:

What is the purpose of NAIS?
The USDA’s NAIS would require “premises registration” of any property where a single farm animal is kept; Radio
Frequency ID tagging or microchipping of every animal; and reporting of every animal’s movements presumably within
24 hours to a federal database under penalty of severe fine, confiscation of animals or both. NAIS proposes
a national disease response network built to protect your animals, your neighbors, and your economic livelihood
against the devastation of a foreign animal disease outbreak.

FACT:  The USDA already has in place the network they claim NAIS will supplant. 
 
The USDA’s claim that “modern” technology will enable 48-hour traceback during disease outbreak is untenable.  In
reality, NAIS will not prevent disease because it does not address the cause of disease.  Traceback can help track the
movement of disease, but if a cataclysmic foreign animal disease outbreak occurred, NAIS will not improve on the current
system for containment and quarantine.
 
Costs of NAIS
The monetary and time costs to implement NAIS are prohibitive for any but the largest industrial livestock producers. 
Small farms, that make up the vast majority of agricultural holdings, could not comply and sustain their operations. 
Farming in America would reduce to large industrial operations.  Food costs would increase as monopolies increase. 
Food borne illness, statistically a product of industrial production and processing, would increase.  Rural economies
would suffer.
 
During this economic downturn, when small farms are the fastest growing agriculture sector, these expanding sources of
employment and local food production would fail.  At the same time, taxpayer burden would increase to pay for
government agencies to oversee and enforce NAIS. 

just google HR 875 for more info

[srvfan]

NAIS is scary enough, but HR 875 looks like a real stinker too.  I'd be weary of Monsanto, Cargill, Tyson, ADM, etc. "looking out for our safety."  Local farmers need less regulation and less interference not more.  These two proposals will hurt small farmers.

A lot of people are under the impression that big business is anti-regulation, usually it's the exact opposite.  Once they get big enough they realize the power of government and how they can use that to their advantage to reduce competition and swing the playing field into their favor.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Chatham County programming 

[srvfan]

new topic started in this that & the other section

http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,11736.0.html

[djkelly]

Like so many government programs the large companies that can benefit from or afford the measure are already using it.  The small companies or farms that gain little or no benefit can't afford it so it's a serious burden to them but they don't have the lobbying power to fight it.

Here's an article from the American Livestock Breed Conservancy here in Pittsboro about the NAIS from 2006.

http://albc-usa.org/news/jun1_06.html

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