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Animal IDs a concern for local farmers

Econ101

Well-known member
Animal IDs a concern for local farmers



Ebony Horton

The Dothan Eagle

May 9, 2006

Alabama, US



It’s like a social security number for a beef cow.



The USDA is predicting the National Animal Identification System, which would require eartags with a unique identification number to trace livestock’s origin, will be mandatory by 2009.



Alabama recently passed a bill implementing the Alabama Premises Registration System - a voluntary seven-digit, alphanumeric voluntary premise ID - to identify feeding mills, farms and other grounds associated with animal agriculture. Within 48 hours, the origin of an infected livestock could be traced.



The bill also calls for confidentiality of the farmers’ information - only the farmer’s name, 911 address and type of livestock would be listed for the government to view.



But as the plan edges closer to national law, some local cattlemen are moving farther away from its approval.



"National security’s fine but if you ID everything that comes into the country we wouldn’t have a problem," said Randy Buckelew, an Opp livestock trader.



"When Canada and Mexico bring cattle in here the government should have (cattle) ID’d then. Why make us (cattlemen) do all this? And what about older farmers who aren’t physically able to get out there and tag every cow?"



Several farmers at the cattle sale at Dothan Livestock Company on Monday agreed.



State legislators stand on both sides of the identification system. While Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said the bill guarantees the state will not implement or make an animal identification mandatory until the federal government does, he said he supported registering premises.



"It’s a work in progress - they’re not any definites in this program, but the demand is on some type of traceability," he said. "In Alabama we don’t want to sit around and wait for something to happen, we want to be a part. We don’t want to be victims."



Discussion to implement a plan escalated when a cow found in Alabama with BSE - Mad Cow Disease - could not be traced.



Advocate Billy Powell, executive vice president of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, said Alabama would be tagged at time of commerce so small, part-time farmers wouldn’t have to tag the animals on the farm.



Although the national identification program is expected to be mandatory by 2009, Powell said an economical incentive could bring change much earlier.



"Merchandisers could say they only want cattle that can be tracked, which could cause major economical strain for farmers who don’t track their animals," he said.



Nearly $20 million has already been invested in the animal identification program, according to the USDA Web site. President Bush called for $33 million in the fiscal year 2005.



More than 235,000 premises are registered as of April 2006.



But Buckelew said he won’t tag his cattle until forced to.



"Anything the government says is voluntary won’t be that way for long," Buckelew said. "When it becomes mandatory, that’s when I’ll do it."





dothaneagle.com
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
Econ101 said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
Econ the cattle coming from Canada are ID'ed. Get with the program.

BM, they are not ID'ed for the consumers.

It's done for herd health and food safety. I'd say that's for the consumers.
We also protect the the info from others except as a diease trace back concern.
 

Econ101

Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:
Econ101 said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
Econ the cattle coming from Canada are ID'ed. Get with the program.

BM, they are not ID'ed for the consumers.

It's done for herd health and food safety. I'd say that's for the consumers.
We also protect the the info from others except as a diease trace back concern.

That is a foreigner's opinion. I said before, if Canada is "all that" with their product, COOL would pose no problem for them and may even be an asset.

The recent "investigation" into the Alabama bse cow had no insights into whether the cow had access to poultry litter or poultry feed. When investigations are "hidden", the truth is bound to be also.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
This is off a Canadian website- has some interesting points....It brings up one thing I have wondered about- show, rodeo and working horses that are moved across county and state lines sometimes several times in one day....Now you can get "annual" inspections for these horses you are using- what will NAIS do?

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NAIS cannot prevent "Mad Cow" disease

By Henry Lamb
web posted May 8, 2006

Shortly after another "mad cow" was discovered in Alabama, there was a rash of articles in the press citing the event as convincing evidence that the USDA's National Animal Identification System should move forward as quickly as possible. Nowhere did any of the articles mention that the NAIS will do nothing to prevent, control, or even slow the disease.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), widely known as "Mad Cow Disease," is a chronic, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. BSE takes years to develop in cattle, not days or weeks. Moreover, the disease is not contagious. The USDA says: "It's important to note that [BSE and related diseases] are not communicable diseases - they do not spread easily like viruses."

If this disease, promoted as justification for the program, is not contagious, why, then, is it necessary for the USDA to construct this massive program to register every premises that houses any farm animal, tag each animal with an electronic monitoring chip, and track every off-premises movement of every animal through a centralized database?

The idea that BSE is justification for the NAIS is thoroughly debunked in a paper prepared by Judith McGeary, a founder of the Liberty Ark Coalition, and Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. She says: "NAIS will not benefit cattle, farmers, or consumers. Rather, NAIS will create profits for the companies that make the microchips and radio tags, while American consumers will see the price of their beef rise, without any additional safety."
There is no legitimate need for the USDA to launch this massive tracking system. Brand laws, ear tags, and sales records already provide an adequate traceback system that has been used successfully for years.

If the goal of the USDA is truly to protect the food supply chain, then the focus should be placed on the packing industry, not on the producer.

Domestic producers are already required to produce a health certificate supplied by an authorized veterinarian at the point of sale. The risk occurs in the feedlots and factories where imported animals and animal products may be added. Meat packers may incorporate imported meat products into hamburger and other non-choice cuts and still receive the USDA stamp of approval. So far, the meat industry has been able to block all efforts to label such imported meats with even the country of origin, to say nothing of any health certification.

Not only is there no need for the NAIS, if it is implemented, it will have devastating effects on producers, consumers, and ultimately, on every American. As currently designed, the program will require that every 4H child, Future Farmer, and every other rural household that has a single cow, horse, chicken, goat, pig, or any other animal that the USDA deems appropriate, to register the premises, tag the animals with an electronic chip, and then report any movement off premises within 24 hours. The animal owner is forced to pay the costs, and could be subject to serious fines or criminal penalties for non-compliance.

Rodeos will be a thing of the past. County fairs will evaporate. The bureaucracy, the cost, and the risk of running afoul of the law simply is not worth the effort for small farmers and ranchers. The corporate giants, who dominate the major trade associations, pay expensive lobbyists, and fill the campaign coffers of politicians, are the real instigators of the NAIS. These are the only people who will benefit from this program by streamlining their vertical integration of the market place. In the end, it is the consumer who will pay the increased costs at the supermarket.

There is another, more serious, negative effect. If the NAIS can be constructed to trace the origin of an animal diseases that may threaten human life, why not use the system to trace human diseases that most certainly threaten human life? Why not require an electronic chip to be placed in every AIDS victim, or every flu victim, or every released felon? A system that can trace the movements of every animal in the nation, could surely just as easily trace the movement of every person in the nation.

Don't laugh, or think for a moment that there are not those who believe this kind of system would be a major improvement over the disorderly "freedom" that Americans enjoy. Political uproar would block the program in an instant, were it being openly developed for people. But once the program is developed for animals, the next step is a very small step, indeed.
 
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