Indiana Animal Health Director
Says ID Program Poorly Handled
By David Bowser
Dr. Jennifer Greiner, identification programs director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, wants to know when her agency became the thief in the night.
The Iowa-born veterinarian said change is hard for everybody, but she has been surprised by the opposition to the National Animal Identification System.
Speaking at a national animal ID forum here recently, she admitted that much of the problem has been with a lack of direction from the federal government.
The early vision for the National Animal Identification System included 48-hour traceback, she said.
"That's that long-term goal we're all looking for," Greiner said. "We're looking for an effective, uniform and consistent animal identification and animal tracking system."
She said the system is supposed to be technology-neutral.
"We're not going to mandate technology for producers that they don't have infrastructure for," Greiner said.
Originally, there was to be added value for producers, she noted.
Quoting from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Greiner said U.S. producers should have a competitive place in the global market because of national animal identification.
"This is where the reality check comes," Greiner said.
She said she received a letter recently that asked if animal health officials could come on a landowner's property, unannounced like a thief in the night, without the property owner's permission.
After a mass mailing by the Indiana Board of Animal Health seeking farm account information, Greiner said she received a form that proclaimed that the U.S. will never be disease-free. Disease becomes mutated by research, the handwritten notation at the bottom of the form said. The writer claimed that the Germany of the 1930s is the U.S. of today.
The writer contended that the government's control of information and leaks is unstoppable.
"Money and political correctness," the message continued, "overrules honesty and integrity in all political organizations. Corruption is rampant in your organization as well as all the others. The Bible calls this spiritual wickedness in high places."
She got two handwritten notes by regular mail.
One, on a "Things I Gotta Do" note pad, questioned what producers did for the previous 16 million years without Big Brother and accused Greiner of criminal wrongdoing.
Another handwritten note, on an Indiana Board of Animal Health brochure, said the identification program is stupid and outrageous.
"You are set on putting all our farmers and cattle raisers out of business," the note continued. "Then where will our food come from? I suppose it's another way you can turn us over to another foreign country. Seems like that is all our government is trying to do. I loved America as it used to be. I'm 82 years young, and I can't imagine what you idiots are thinking. Where is America, the land of the free?"
"Somewhere along the way," Greiner said, "NAIS has become a system to squash private property rights. It also has become a system to hijack personal freedoms, eliminate privacy, drain farm income and eradicate small producers."
Where did the National Animal Identification System go wrong? Many places, she said.
Greiner said there has been inadequate direction in the program. There were too few details to support the long-term announcements that have been made with regard to tags, costs and reporting.
She said the federal government has provided too little support to the states. She said there was a lack of infrastructure at the launch of the program.
The moving target of an adopted timeline resulted in confusion among the public and with state animal health officials.
The states were left to move ahead alone, she said. It was a process that made long-range planning impossible.
Greiner said there was no clear, consistent message from the federal government, a lack of communication with the states, mixed messages and empty promises of support.
She said Indiana's strategy has been to focus on premise identification only and target critical, at-risk species.
In Indiana, she said, they have identified partners and made the animal identification program an Indiana program.
They promise nothing about the future and reframe the federal government's message.
The message that Indiana is putting out, Greiner said, is that the premise identification program updates and modernizes a century-old animal health system to continue to protect Hoosiers' investment in animal agriculture in a changing, global marketplace.
September was the deadline for premise identification for all cattle, swine, sheep, goats and captive cervids, she said. Horses and poultry programs are voluntary.
Sites associated with buying, selling and exhibiting livestock are required to register their premises.
Greiner said the Indiana Board of Animal Health has sent out printed materials, maintains a website, has held local meetings and trade shows, partnered with agricultural organizations and reached out to the media.
She said she had not realized the strength of the opposition and the amount of confusion concerning the program. Nor, she said, had she realized the amount of work that would be involved with data entry. There have been manpower issues and address verification issues.
However, Greiner said that in Indiana, 14,250 premises of the estimated 23,300 eligible sites are registered and the mail is still coming in.
Greiner said she's a farmer's daughter.
"My ability as an animal health official to be able to combat an animal health emergency, to stop an animal disease in its tracks," she said, "is absolutely vital and critical to the livelihood of my parents and our other livestock producers in this country."
She said animal health officials need to focus on the foundation of the NAIS as an animal disease program.
"We need to take back our program," Greiner said.
Says ID Program Poorly Handled
By David Bowser
Dr. Jennifer Greiner, identification programs director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, wants to know when her agency became the thief in the night.
The Iowa-born veterinarian said change is hard for everybody, but she has been surprised by the opposition to the National Animal Identification System.
Speaking at a national animal ID forum here recently, she admitted that much of the problem has been with a lack of direction from the federal government.
The early vision for the National Animal Identification System included 48-hour traceback, she said.
"That's that long-term goal we're all looking for," Greiner said. "We're looking for an effective, uniform and consistent animal identification and animal tracking system."
She said the system is supposed to be technology-neutral.
"We're not going to mandate technology for producers that they don't have infrastructure for," Greiner said.
Originally, there was to be added value for producers, she noted.
Quoting from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Greiner said U.S. producers should have a competitive place in the global market because of national animal identification.
"This is where the reality check comes," Greiner said.
She said she received a letter recently that asked if animal health officials could come on a landowner's property, unannounced like a thief in the night, without the property owner's permission.
After a mass mailing by the Indiana Board of Animal Health seeking farm account information, Greiner said she received a form that proclaimed that the U.S. will never be disease-free. Disease becomes mutated by research, the handwritten notation at the bottom of the form said. The writer claimed that the Germany of the 1930s is the U.S. of today.
The writer contended that the government's control of information and leaks is unstoppable.
"Money and political correctness," the message continued, "overrules honesty and integrity in all political organizations. Corruption is rampant in your organization as well as all the others. The Bible calls this spiritual wickedness in high places."
She got two handwritten notes by regular mail.
One, on a "Things I Gotta Do" note pad, questioned what producers did for the previous 16 million years without Big Brother and accused Greiner of criminal wrongdoing.
Another handwritten note, on an Indiana Board of Animal Health brochure, said the identification program is stupid and outrageous.
"You are set on putting all our farmers and cattle raisers out of business," the note continued. "Then where will our food come from? I suppose it's another way you can turn us over to another foreign country. Seems like that is all our government is trying to do. I loved America as it used to be. I'm 82 years young, and I can't imagine what you idiots are thinking. Where is America, the land of the free?"
"Somewhere along the way," Greiner said, "NAIS has become a system to squash private property rights. It also has become a system to hijack personal freedoms, eliminate privacy, drain farm income and eradicate small producers."
Where did the National Animal Identification System go wrong? Many places, she said.
Greiner said there has been inadequate direction in the program. There were too few details to support the long-term announcements that have been made with regard to tags, costs and reporting.
She said the federal government has provided too little support to the states. She said there was a lack of infrastructure at the launch of the program.
The moving target of an adopted timeline resulted in confusion among the public and with state animal health officials.
The states were left to move ahead alone, she said. It was a process that made long-range planning impossible.
Greiner said there was no clear, consistent message from the federal government, a lack of communication with the states, mixed messages and empty promises of support.
She said Indiana's strategy has been to focus on premise identification only and target critical, at-risk species.
In Indiana, she said, they have identified partners and made the animal identification program an Indiana program.
They promise nothing about the future and reframe the federal government's message.
The message that Indiana is putting out, Greiner said, is that the premise identification program updates and modernizes a century-old animal health system to continue to protect Hoosiers' investment in animal agriculture in a changing, global marketplace.
September was the deadline for premise identification for all cattle, swine, sheep, goats and captive cervids, she said. Horses and poultry programs are voluntary.
Sites associated with buying, selling and exhibiting livestock are required to register their premises.
Greiner said the Indiana Board of Animal Health has sent out printed materials, maintains a website, has held local meetings and trade shows, partnered with agricultural organizations and reached out to the media.
She said she had not realized the strength of the opposition and the amount of confusion concerning the program. Nor, she said, had she realized the amount of work that would be involved with data entry. There have been manpower issues and address verification issues.
However, Greiner said that in Indiana, 14,250 premises of the estimated 23,300 eligible sites are registered and the mail is still coming in.
Greiner said she's a farmer's daughter.
"My ability as an animal health official to be able to combat an animal health emergency, to stop an animal disease in its tracks," she said, "is absolutely vital and critical to the livelihood of my parents and our other livestock producers in this country."
She said animal health officials need to focus on the foundation of the NAIS as an animal disease program.
"We need to take back our program," Greiner said.
