Private Sector Livestock ID System Pushed
Tulsa World, Okla., August 06, 2005
by Angel Riggs
Aug. 6--OKLAHOMA CITY -- The national program aimed at identifying and tracking livestock could be better run by the private sector than by the government, a spokesman for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said Friday.
"We thought Animal ID and the creation of the Animal ID system by the USDA was something the USDA could not do as well as we could do," said Jay Truitt, vice president of government affairs for the association, whose state branch is the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association.
Concerns facing the industry were addressed during the OCA's 53rd annual convention by Truitt along with U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Chuck Lambert, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The National Animal Identification Program is aimed at making it possible to track an animal's history within 48 hours by keeping tabs on its travels. Each time an animal goes to a new ranch or sale barn, for example, that property's identification number and the animal's own number would be entered into a national database.
The government is already issuing the property numbers, called premises ID.
The program is voluntary now, but the USDA plans to make it mandatory in 2009.
Truitt said that by privatizing the system, the entire process could be implemented more quickly and for less money. :roll: :roll: :roll:
Congress and the USDA are considering the proposal.
Lucas said he's looking at both sides.
He said private industry may be able to contain costs and respond more quickly to changing circumstances.
In addition, he said, the industry has a track record of compiling information for the government. The OCA maintains the state's brand records, for example. :roll: :roll: :roll:
However, Lucas questioned whether one private group can address all the needs of the various industry groups that will be involved in Animal ID. While cattle are first in line to receive ID numbers, the program will eventually be extended to all livestock, including horses, pigs and sheep.
"The case is out there," Lucas said. "The ball is in the USDA's court."
The national cattle association says it will test its system in October, and that it can have an Animal ID program up and running by January. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
"The USDA is open to discussion of those alternative systems," said Lambert, the USDA official.
Private industry has expressed concerns that information about ranchers' livestock contained in a government database could be made public.
While it's true that a mandatory system would be susceptible to Freedom of Information Act requests, information contained in a voluntary system is not, Lambert said. Exempting data on a mandatory list from FOIA requests would take an act of Congress, he said.
Other issues the group discussed included the status of reopening Japan to meat from the United States. The door to the $1.5 billion beef market has been shut since the United States' first discovery, in late 2003, of a cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Currently, Australia is filling the void in Japan, Lambert said.
The United States and Japan have agreed to the resumption of U.S. beef shipments from cattle younger than 20 months and are negotiating how to determine the age of cattle. Leaders from both countries are set to meet in September and will discuss BSE, Lambert said.
Also, the country's heightened surveillance for BSE cases will continue for the "foreseeable future, not indefinitely," Lambert said. The country has tested more than 426,000 high-risk cattle since June 2004. he said.
In his remarks, Lucas complimented American consumers for calmly handling this summer's BSE news reports.
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Tulsa World, Okla., August 06, 2005
by Angel Riggs
Aug. 6--OKLAHOMA CITY -- The national program aimed at identifying and tracking livestock could be better run by the private sector than by the government, a spokesman for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said Friday.
"We thought Animal ID and the creation of the Animal ID system by the USDA was something the USDA could not do as well as we could do," said Jay Truitt, vice president of government affairs for the association, whose state branch is the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association.
Concerns facing the industry were addressed during the OCA's 53rd annual convention by Truitt along with U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Chuck Lambert, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The National Animal Identification Program is aimed at making it possible to track an animal's history within 48 hours by keeping tabs on its travels. Each time an animal goes to a new ranch or sale barn, for example, that property's identification number and the animal's own number would be entered into a national database.
The government is already issuing the property numbers, called premises ID.
The program is voluntary now, but the USDA plans to make it mandatory in 2009.
Truitt said that by privatizing the system, the entire process could be implemented more quickly and for less money. :roll: :roll: :roll:
Congress and the USDA are considering the proposal.
Lucas said he's looking at both sides.
He said private industry may be able to contain costs and respond more quickly to changing circumstances.
In addition, he said, the industry has a track record of compiling information for the government. The OCA maintains the state's brand records, for example. :roll: :roll: :roll:
However, Lucas questioned whether one private group can address all the needs of the various industry groups that will be involved in Animal ID. While cattle are first in line to receive ID numbers, the program will eventually be extended to all livestock, including horses, pigs and sheep.
"The case is out there," Lucas said. "The ball is in the USDA's court."
The national cattle association says it will test its system in October, and that it can have an Animal ID program up and running by January. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
"The USDA is open to discussion of those alternative systems," said Lambert, the USDA official.
Private industry has expressed concerns that information about ranchers' livestock contained in a government database could be made public.
While it's true that a mandatory system would be susceptible to Freedom of Information Act requests, information contained in a voluntary system is not, Lambert said. Exempting data on a mandatory list from FOIA requests would take an act of Congress, he said.
Other issues the group discussed included the status of reopening Japan to meat from the United States. The door to the $1.5 billion beef market has been shut since the United States' first discovery, in late 2003, of a cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Currently, Australia is filling the void in Japan, Lambert said.
The United States and Japan have agreed to the resumption of U.S. beef shipments from cattle younger than 20 months and are negotiating how to determine the age of cattle. Leaders from both countries are set to meet in September and will discuss BSE, Lambert said.
Also, the country's heightened surveillance for BSE cases will continue for the "foreseeable future, not indefinitely," Lambert said. The country has tested more than 426,000 high-risk cattle since June 2004. he said.
In his remarks, Lucas complimented American consumers for calmly handling this summer's BSE news reports.
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