Sale Barns Oppose Private Animal ID
-Livestock Marketing Association Says Federal Money, Help Needed
By Chris Clayton
DTN Staff Reporter
November 8, 2005
HERSHEY, Penn. (DTN) -- Reflecting the division in the livestock industry over the USDA's national animal-tracking plan, a trade association representing sale barns made it clear Monday that livestock auctions won't take part in a privatized animal tracking system.
The Livestock Marketing Association, which represents over 600 livestock auction sale barns, made it clear that without money and federal help to create a national animal identification program, the LMA's members will not participate voluntarily. While the group does not have figures on the number of cattle handled by its members, nationally the majority of feeder cattle sold do move through sale barns.
"No dollars, no help, we don't come to the table," said Nancy Robinson, the LMA's vice president of government relations. "Because, let's face it, our position is we understood this would be a public database."
Robinson's comments came Monday night at the U.S. Animal Health Association annual meeting in a forum held by the veterinary group's Animal Identification Committee. Chairman of the committee, Bob Hillman, executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission, called the night meeting searching for some consensus for the livestock industry to move ahead with an identification program.
"All of us recognize not everybody is on the same page from the standpoint of having a private database," Hillman said.
Groups within the livestock industry have been at odds with each other and the U.S. Department of Agriculture since Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced in August that he wants a private group to create and operate the database that would track livestock sales and movements nationally.
Some in the livestock industry are looking for the USAHA to take a strong position on animal identification before its meeting ends Wednesday. Several resolutions are up for debate by the group's Animal Identification Committee.
Because no ruling has come from the federal government setting a mandate for producers to enroll in the national identification program, the livestock industry runs the risk of having a partial database including only a portion of the nation's livestock "and it won't work worth a flip," Hillman said.
While Johanns wants a private system built without federal funds, the USDA's chief veterinarian, John Clifford, acknowledged Monday the agency has a centralized tracking database that was used as a prototype for a tracking program being implemented in Wisconsin. Clifford said he is restricted from using the tracking system USDA was creating. He said it would take more development to have it ready to use nationally.
"We could get that system out relatively quickly," Clifford said. "But, having said that, I'm not going put that system out there, not unless I'm given instructions to do so."
As efforts for a national private system stall, at least eight states now have mandated or are in the process of mandating that producers register their home addresses or "premise ID." Nationally, only about 125,000 premises are registered out of an estimated possible 2.1 million livestock owners, according to a USDA agriculture census. Wisconsin, which mandated premise registration Nov. 1, leads the nation with about 26,000 producers registered.
Clifford said he also is aware of as many as 15 states moving forward with their own plans for animal tracking programs as well.
The industry should not be forced to pay for the full cost of the animal identification program, Robinson said, with her view supported by other speakers as well. That would put a heavy burden on livestock sale barns and similar businesses that would have to install software, sensors and enter data into computers for the volume of transactions they oversee.
"I think you can imagine how instrumental we will be for that data collection and transfer and that traceback program," Robinson said. "For us to come to the table and sit down and have to agree to a private consortium to establish a database ... I don't think you can expect us at that table."
While some groups are choosing not to go along, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association continues working on its own database. NCBA officials have said the system could be ready to register livestock by early 2006.
David Thain, state veterinarian for Nevada, said the national association representing state veterinarians has determined USDA should have a memorandum of understanding with a private consortium by July 1, 2006, or reconsider the private approach.
"Personally, I don't care where the data is at as long as (state veterinarians) have access," Thain said.
Sam Holland, South Dakota's state veterinarian, said producers in his state would be pretty happy if a private program was put on hold, but Holland said producers would support a system run by state and federal animal-health authorities.
Another state veterinarian, Becky Brewer-Walker of Oklahoma, said several people have complained about the cost to set up a program, but she asked what could happen if a disease hit without a tracking program in place.
"We have to look at everything but one thing we have to look at is the cost of not having an ID system," Brewer-Walker said.
-Livestock Marketing Association Says Federal Money, Help Needed
By Chris Clayton
DTN Staff Reporter
November 8, 2005
HERSHEY, Penn. (DTN) -- Reflecting the division in the livestock industry over the USDA's national animal-tracking plan, a trade association representing sale barns made it clear Monday that livestock auctions won't take part in a privatized animal tracking system.
The Livestock Marketing Association, which represents over 600 livestock auction sale barns, made it clear that without money and federal help to create a national animal identification program, the LMA's members will not participate voluntarily. While the group does not have figures on the number of cattle handled by its members, nationally the majority of feeder cattle sold do move through sale barns.
"No dollars, no help, we don't come to the table," said Nancy Robinson, the LMA's vice president of government relations. "Because, let's face it, our position is we understood this would be a public database."
Robinson's comments came Monday night at the U.S. Animal Health Association annual meeting in a forum held by the veterinary group's Animal Identification Committee. Chairman of the committee, Bob Hillman, executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission, called the night meeting searching for some consensus for the livestock industry to move ahead with an identification program.
"All of us recognize not everybody is on the same page from the standpoint of having a private database," Hillman said.
Groups within the livestock industry have been at odds with each other and the U.S. Department of Agriculture since Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced in August that he wants a private group to create and operate the database that would track livestock sales and movements nationally.
Some in the livestock industry are looking for the USAHA to take a strong position on animal identification before its meeting ends Wednesday. Several resolutions are up for debate by the group's Animal Identification Committee.
Because no ruling has come from the federal government setting a mandate for producers to enroll in the national identification program, the livestock industry runs the risk of having a partial database including only a portion of the nation's livestock "and it won't work worth a flip," Hillman said.
While Johanns wants a private system built without federal funds, the USDA's chief veterinarian, John Clifford, acknowledged Monday the agency has a centralized tracking database that was used as a prototype for a tracking program being implemented in Wisconsin. Clifford said he is restricted from using the tracking system USDA was creating. He said it would take more development to have it ready to use nationally.
"We could get that system out relatively quickly," Clifford said. "But, having said that, I'm not going put that system out there, not unless I'm given instructions to do so."
As efforts for a national private system stall, at least eight states now have mandated or are in the process of mandating that producers register their home addresses or "premise ID." Nationally, only about 125,000 premises are registered out of an estimated possible 2.1 million livestock owners, according to a USDA agriculture census. Wisconsin, which mandated premise registration Nov. 1, leads the nation with about 26,000 producers registered.
Clifford said he also is aware of as many as 15 states moving forward with their own plans for animal tracking programs as well.
The industry should not be forced to pay for the full cost of the animal identification program, Robinson said, with her view supported by other speakers as well. That would put a heavy burden on livestock sale barns and similar businesses that would have to install software, sensors and enter data into computers for the volume of transactions they oversee.
"I think you can imagine how instrumental we will be for that data collection and transfer and that traceback program," Robinson said. "For us to come to the table and sit down and have to agree to a private consortium to establish a database ... I don't think you can expect us at that table."
While some groups are choosing not to go along, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association continues working on its own database. NCBA officials have said the system could be ready to register livestock by early 2006.
David Thain, state veterinarian for Nevada, said the national association representing state veterinarians has determined USDA should have a memorandum of understanding with a private consortium by July 1, 2006, or reconsider the private approach.
"Personally, I don't care where the data is at as long as (state veterinarians) have access," Thain said.
Sam Holland, South Dakota's state veterinarian, said producers in his state would be pretty happy if a private program was put on hold, but Holland said producers would support a system run by state and federal animal-health authorities.
Another state veterinarian, Becky Brewer-Walker of Oklahoma, said several people have complained about the cost to set up a program, but she asked what could happen if a disease hit without a tracking program in place.
"We have to look at everything but one thing we have to look at is the cost of not having an ID system," Brewer-Walker said.
