No Mandatory Animal ID

Farmers: Make animal ID voluntary

Even those who have different ideas on what provisions a new farm bill should contain were unified about one issue Monday at a House Agriculture Committee field hearing in Springfield.

Nobody wants to see mandatory animal identification --not the witnesses invited to testify about the 2007 Farm Bill and not the folks taking time off from their farms to attend the session in the E-Plex at the Missouri Entertainment and Events Center.

Farmers are unified on this issue, No Mandatory Animal ID. I am so glad to see this movement taking off across the US. More people are awake than I hoped would be. We need to keep beating the drum. Contact your Congressmen, Senators, Governors, and anybody that will listen. Keep Animal ID voluntary.

An ear tag never stopped a disease, but it appears to motivate the body politic.

Posted by Sarpy Sam in Action Efforts at 04:15 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

MLA apologises for hacking tagging poll

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) has been forced to apologise, after two staff members hacked into an Internet poll on the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).

The Rural Press poll asked readers to rate the performance of the system to trace animals from birth to death.

Early poll results showed more than 60 per cent of voters described NLIS as poor or terrible.

But a day later, after tampering by MLA staff, the poll showed 70 per cent believed the system was good or excellent.

Even in Australia the promoters of animal ID are having trouble convincing people to like the ID scheme. They have to hack in and fix the results of a poll. Johanns and crew keep throwing Australia up to us in the US for their tracking system and how we should emulate it. This just shows though that the rank and file in Australia don't like their NLIS program and the Government in Australia and it's cohorts are having to use underhanded schemes to make the world believe it is going great guns.

Don't believe the US government when they tell you how great the Australia system is working. Research it a little. the majority of Australian producers are skeptical and leery of the system and want it overhauled all ready and it hasn't even been around very long.

An ear tag never stopped a disease, but it sure causes government worldwide to lie to get in operation.

Posted by Sarpy Sam in Government Propaganda, International at 04:07 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

USDA's Johanns Urges Broad Support Of Animal ID System

Speaking at the National Institute of Animal Agriculture's Animal Identification/Information Exposition 2006 in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns encouraged participants to continue working toward full participation in a national, voluntary system of animal identification.

"Don't let naysayers dampen your enthusiasm," Johanns said in a speech to the group. Other countries have animal-identification systems, and they are using the fact that their livestock are traceable as a marketing tool, Johanns said. The U.S. also should have a system for tracing livestock to stay competitive.

The USDA just keeps pushing this issue. The claim is still that it will be voulantary which I completely agree with. Johanns has also said that if 100% voluntary participation isn't reached it will be mandatory. Keep your eyes on this. Never let up the vigilance.

Can I ask a reasonable question? What is stopping there from being a tracing system now? If it will make us so much more competitive why does the USDA or the Government need to get involved? If this were going to help say Tyson sell more beef overseas or in the US why don't they just require it. All Tyson would have to do is say they will no longer slaughter beef that doesn't have a trace back to birth involved with it. Then, if there is such a demand for it they can just sit back and rake in the money, pure and simple. No government involvement, no mandating it under penalty of law. Just a producers decision whether they want to participate or not and letting the market decide. SIMPLE.

There has to be much more involved in this since the meat packers aren't just doing this. You want to know what it is? There isn't the demand out there and there is no profit in it for them to source ID their meat. So if there is no profit in it for them, why should I do it at a loss just to please them. Show me the money and I will show you the tag.

An ear tag never stopped a disease, but it sure has the USDA hopping through the meat packers hoops pushing it.

Posted by Sarpy Sam in Government Propaganda at 03:52 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)