No Mandatory Animal ID

We keep getting sold the whole bill of goods on NAIS by the constant chorus that Australia is doing it so we need to. According to the proponents of the system all is working out well Down Under and we should be meek little sheep and follow along. Let's take a brief glimpse at how it's working out Down Under.

Livestock tracking system `on track'

National Livestock Identification System chairman John Wyld has defended the system against claims that it was not working and offered producers no benefit.

Mr Wyld, of Victoria, said that Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers office bearers should focus on the interests of grassroots members in Tasmania rather than operate as "a mouthpiece for those constantly negative attacks emanating from another state".

In The Examiner earlier this month, Australian Beef Association chairwoman Linda Hewitt was quoted as saying that the nine million phantom cattle that no longer existed, but whose tags were still active, showed the system didn't work.

TFGA Meat Council chairman Laurie Appleby, too, was critical of the way NLIS was working.

He said that the only people making money out of NLIS were those supplying the system with tags or readers.

He questioned the value of an Australian tracking system whose participants received a lower price than their American counterparts who used no such system.

So, the chairman of the system thinks it's working great, but the people using the system see problems. 9 million tags still active but no cattle to go along with them. It seems they were slaughtered and the meat packers never removed the tags from the database like they should. Fun isn't it.

They also complain that there is no financial benefit to the system and that US producers are still getting more for their cattle and have no such system. How true this is I can't say but these are the people on the ground seeing this, so i imagine they have a good idea.

One last thing. The whole idea of this system is to be able to track an animal to it's place of origin in case of a disease. Is this working in Australia?

But former TFGA Meat Council chairman David Byard said that the recent hydatids cyst find at Killafaddy showed the system was flawed.

The cyst was found in a beast whose head had already been removed and there was no way of identifying the infected carcass or where it originated, he said.

"I'm afraid we've been sold a bunny - what's the use of a system that only traces a beast to slaughter," he said.

"The much lauded paddock-to-plate traceability doesn't exist."

They've been sold a "bunny." The disease trace back didn't work. So we are getting a disease trace back system forced on us, modeled on the Australian example, and that example has prove not to work. This is just wonderful.

An ear tag never stopped a disease, and now it's proved to not be able to trace one back either.

Knight backs simpler voluntary national animal ID system

The Senate Ag Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the nomination of several top agriculture officials. Among them is, Bruce Knight, the current Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, who has been nominated for the post of USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.

If confirmed, Knight will oversee key USDA agencies, including the Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration, the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. In that role, Knight will also be the administration’s point man on national animal ID.

So there might be a new guy in charge of the NAIS program. What does he have to say.

Talent invited Knight to share his views, and Knight agreed with Talent that national animal ID should be a voluntary program. Knight also said national animal ID would be among his top priorities, and should be simplified to increase its adoption by livestock producers. “There is room for improvement making this touchable, tangible and understandable for farmers and ranchers,” Knight said. “We need a voluntary program that’s very easy to understand, and a program that is very apparent to producers why it’s important to both themselves as an individual and to the industry good as a whole,” he added.

Knight said such an approach could make a big difference in USDA’s approach to national animal ID. “And I think those precepts could be transformational in how we’re working with the national animal ID program at present,” said Knight.

It should be voulantary and it should be simpler. I can't agree more. These are the things I would like to see.

The big question in all this is does he truly beklive what hw is saying, or is he just saying it to be confirmed. Only time will tell.

An ear tag never stopped a disease.

"This is a controversial issue. I don't think we need to have it in New Mexico because New Mexico is a brand state. There are not many brand states in the U.S. New Mexico has a very good cattle tracking system. Primarily, the animal identification system should be limited to the states with no brand law."
Alisa Ogden, rancher, farmer and president elect of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, expressing an opinion about NAIS. (Source: Carlsbad Current Argus, July 11, 2006)

It looks like the Government is fighting back against people like me talking about NAIS. Check out this grant being offered by the USDA and why it's being offered.

Document Type: Grants Notice
Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-GRANTS-051106-001
Posted Date: May 11, 2006
Original Closing Date for Applications: Jul 25, 2006
Current Closing Date for Applications: Jul 25, 2006
Archive Date: Aug 24, 2006
Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement
Category of Funding Activity: Agriculture
Category Explanation:
Expected Number of Awards: 111
Estimated Total Program Funding: $10,882,000
Award Ceiling:
Award Floor:
CFDA Number: 10.025 -- Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: Yes

Eligible Applicants

State governments
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)


Additional Information on Eligibility:


Agency Name

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Description

USDA initiated implementation of the NAIS in 2004. The Department’s first priority with the initial funding in FY2004 was to have the components of the national premises registration system in place in every State by July 2005. With this accomplished, the next step was to use FY2005 funds to increase the number of registered eligible premises in each State. As of April, 2006, over 245,000 premises have been registered nationwide, or approximately twelve percent of the estimated number that are eligible. Funding for FY2006 will be provided to State and Native American Tribal governments to support the continued implementation and maintenance of the national premises identification system and NAIS within their respective areas. We would like to achieve a national target for premises registration of fifteen percent by July, 2006, twenty five percent by January, 2007, and thirty five percent by July, 2007. Since the majority of premises will be registered in a voluntary system, it is critical that we provide all individuals, business, and organizations a correct and consistent message about how they will benefit from NAIS and their responsibility to participate. Misinformation and adverse publicity has been somewhat detrimental to the adoption of NAIS in many areas of the country. USDA is working with States, organizations, and other stakeholders to develop appropriate educational and outreach materials. Applications for cooperative agreement funding must include an aggressive plan for education and outreach, including effective use of existing outreach resources such as cooperative extension, state AVIC offices, and state industry organizations, to stakeholders at all levels within the state or tribe. This funding opportunity does NOT include funds for conducting pilot projects to develop solutions for animal identification and/or collecting animal movement data. Similarly, funds are not to be used for the purchase of animal identification devices, animal movement data recording hardware or software, or the development of animal tracking databases. Animal movement tracking will be developed, implemented, and funded within the private and/or State/Tribal sector.

Over 10 million dollars being offered to fight "Misinformation and adverse publicity has been somewhat detrimental to the adoption of NAIS in many areas of the country. USDA is working with States, organizations, and other stakeholders to develop appropriate educational and outreach materials." My-O-My. They are sure running awful scared from the truth being spoken by people such as me doing this all on their own with a shoestring budget.

I guess the truth spoken with conviction outweighs legions of money, or so I hope.

An ear tag never stopped a disease, but the Government hopes tons of money will stop me.