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Lawmaker wants Tenn. to opt out of electronic cattle tracking
By ERIK SCHELZIG
Associated Press Writer
Published: Tuesday, 03/28/06
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee would opt out of the national electronic cattle tracking system designed to prevent the spread of mad cow disease under a bill being considered by the House.
Rep. Frank Niceley, the measure's sponsor, said Tuesday that electronic tracking is too expensive and that tags containing microchips could be manipulated for fraudulent purposes.
The Strawberry Plains Republican instead called for no-tech metal tags that are "cheap, dependable (and) can't be monkeyed with."
Niceley said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's national animal identification system "is not the best idea for anyone except people who are manufacturing radio chips."
The proposal is at odds with Gov. Phil Bredesen's stated goal of making Tennessee a world leader in electronically tracking cattle to allay fears about mad cow disease.
The state has identified more than 8,500 Tennessee sites where livestock are kept, and a voluntary electronic tagging program is under way, Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens told The Associated Press after the meeting.
Givens said electronic tracking adds value to Tennessee beef because it can tell buyers the origin and age of the cattle. No case of mad cow has been detected in cows younger than 24 months, he said.
The ability to trace livestock has become crucial after three U.S. cows tested positive for mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
People who eat beef tainted by the aberrant protein believed to cause mad cow disease can contract a rare but fatal ailment, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The goal of the animal identification system is to ensure that a diseased animal or tainted meat can be traced within 48 hours in the event of a disease outbreak.
"We all agree that 48-hour trace-back is a good idea," Niceley said. "But we won't want to see the cattle industry start out with a $3 or $4 per-head program that grows to $10 per her head.
"We can do it with a metal clip that costs a couple of cents," he said.
Commissioner Givens disagreed that the metal clips could be as effective as electronic tags.
"A metal clip doesn't give you anything but a number that will tell you which farm the cow came from," Givens said.
Luke West, vice president of the Tennessee Cattlemen's Association, said electronic tags can increase the marketability of cattle.
Electronically tagged cattle at the East Tennessee Livestock Center in Sweetwater are sold to a buyer for McDonald's Corp., which has made origin-tracking of its meat supply a priority, West said.
"Let's let the market decide about electronic tagging...," West said. "Not these conspiracy kooks."
The House Agriculture Committee granted Niceley a week to flesh out his proposal before voting on it.
With $514 million in receipts last year, beef cattle are Tennessee's largest agricultural product and the state ranks ninth nationally.
Also Tuesday, Nicely withdrew his proposal to control the ingredients of all livestock feed to guard against mad cow disease in Tennessee.
Nicely had introduced the measure designed to surpass federal regulations by banning all feed containing cattle protein or bone meal made from cattle or other ruminant animals such as sheep.
But Niceley said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now working on updating rules to include blanket bans on animal parts in feed.
"So we can wait for the federal guidelines to do what they should have done 10 years ago," Niceley said.
Tennessee already prohibits cattle feed that contains animal parts, but it's OK for hog and chicken feed. Niceley said cross-contamination of feeds could lead to cattle being fed cattle parts.
Published: Tuesday, 03/28/06
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Lawmaker wants Tenn. to opt out of electronic cattle tracking
By ERIK SCHELZIG
Associated Press Writer
Published: Tuesday, 03/28/06
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee would opt out of the national electronic cattle tracking system designed to prevent the spread of mad cow disease under a bill being considered by the House.
Rep. Frank Niceley, the measure's sponsor, said Tuesday that electronic tracking is too expensive and that tags containing microchips could be manipulated for fraudulent purposes.
The Strawberry Plains Republican instead called for no-tech metal tags that are "cheap, dependable (and) can't be monkeyed with."
Niceley said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's national animal identification system "is not the best idea for anyone except people who are manufacturing radio chips."
The proposal is at odds with Gov. Phil Bredesen's stated goal of making Tennessee a world leader in electronically tracking cattle to allay fears about mad cow disease.
The state has identified more than 8,500 Tennessee sites where livestock are kept, and a voluntary electronic tagging program is under way, Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens told The Associated Press after the meeting.
Givens said electronic tracking adds value to Tennessee beef because it can tell buyers the origin and age of the cattle. No case of mad cow has been detected in cows younger than 24 months, he said.
The ability to trace livestock has become crucial after three U.S. cows tested positive for mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
People who eat beef tainted by the aberrant protein believed to cause mad cow disease can contract a rare but fatal ailment, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The goal of the animal identification system is to ensure that a diseased animal or tainted meat can be traced within 48 hours in the event of a disease outbreak.
"We all agree that 48-hour trace-back is a good idea," Niceley said. "But we won't want to see the cattle industry start out with a $3 or $4 per-head program that grows to $10 per her head.
"We can do it with a metal clip that costs a couple of cents," he said.
Commissioner Givens disagreed that the metal clips could be as effective as electronic tags.
"A metal clip doesn't give you anything but a number that will tell you which farm the cow came from," Givens said.
Luke West, vice president of the Tennessee Cattlemen's Association, said electronic tags can increase the marketability of cattle.
Electronically tagged cattle at the East Tennessee Livestock Center in Sweetwater are sold to a buyer for McDonald's Corp., which has made origin-tracking of its meat supply a priority, West said.
"Let's let the market decide about electronic tagging...," West said. "Not these conspiracy kooks."
The House Agriculture Committee granted Niceley a week to flesh out his proposal before voting on it.
With $514 million in receipts last year, beef cattle are Tennessee's largest agricultural product and the state ranks ninth nationally.
Also Tuesday, Nicely withdrew his proposal to control the ingredients of all livestock feed to guard against mad cow disease in Tennessee.
Nicely had introduced the measure designed to surpass federal regulations by banning all feed containing cattle protein or bone meal made from cattle or other ruminant animals such as sheep.
But Niceley said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now working on updating rules to include blanket bans on animal parts in feed.
"So we can wait for the federal guidelines to do what they should have done 10 years ago," Niceley said.
Tennessee already prohibits cattle feed that contains animal parts, but it's OK for hog and chicken feed. Niceley said cross-contamination of feeds could lead to cattle being fed cattle parts.
Published: Tuesday, 03/28/06
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