I'm Confused
The National Cattlemen's Beef association (NCBA) has been all hot and bothered over the whole NAIS for some time now. They have thought all along this is the next best thing to sliced bread for the cattle industry. Then I read this story.
Despite McDonald's Corporation, the largest U.S. beef buyer, calling for a national animal traceback system, beef industry leaders oppose any mandatory measure.
Mike John, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) president, agrees a traceback system is needed, but remains opposed to a mandatory program.
When has the NCBA been opposed to a mandatory system? Never up until now. Why have they changed their minds on this? Maybe they are starting to hear opposition from enough members to see the light and figure out that the cattle producers are opposed to this mandatory system and something else needs looked at.
I have advocated a voluntary, market driven system for a while now. If consumers want meat traceability, they should pay for it . Then the meat packers will pay more to the producers for it and the market will drive producers that want to make more profit to find a way to voluntarily make a traceback situation work. Look what Mike Johns is saying now all of a sudden.
Because of current private industry solutions that meet the requirements traceability is looking for, John said any traceback system should be voluntary. If anything, the market should drive involvement in this traceback system.
"If producers invest in the system because there is a return to them, they will purchase the tags, they will pay the fees associated with participating with private industry programs," John said.
Epiphany!! A market driven system. [sarcasm]Damn I wish I would have thought of that months ago, NAIS.html">which I did, and been talking about it instead of just whining about the mandatory system.[/sarcasm]
Mike Johns is finally wising up and at least talking like he represents the cattle industry. I will be curious to see where this goes, if anywhere. When the largest cattle producers organization starts talking this way, Congress might begin to listen. Our pressure on people in charge of implementing NAIS must be doing some good, keep it up.
An ear tag never stopped a disease, but it did change the way the NCBA is approaching this monumental shift in the way the business operates.
