Animal ID plan moves forwardPublished on 07/24/2006
by Amy Beth Graves Editor’s note: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed a national animal identification plan that is stirring debate. Buckeye Farm News is taking an in-depth look at the issue with a two-part series. Part I (below) details specifics of the plan while Part II (in the Aug. 14 issue) will examine the concerns of the proposed animal ID system. Two years ago USDA announced the framework of a national animal identification plan that would help authorities quickly track sick or exposed animals in a disease outbreak. While the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is still evolving, the deadline for the first goal is just six months away. The USDA’s goal is to have 25 percent of all U.S. premises registered by January 2007. Registration of the premises, which include farms, markets, exhibitions, packing/processing plants and other locations that produce, hold or manage livestock, is voluntary. So far, less than 15 percent of premises nationally have been registered, according to the USDA. In Ohio, the percentage is much lower – only about 3 percent of the estimated 46,000 premises have been registered, according to Gary Wilson, manager of the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) Animal Identification Systems. "There’s a lot of misinformation and confusion about the program, which is probably why Ohio has such a low number of premises registered," said David White, director of commodity relations for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF). "Voluntary premises registration is the first step of a very complex system that is still being developed." To help keep members up-to-date about NAIS, Ohio Farm Bureau is hosting a series of informational meetings statewide in August and September (see list on Page 6). "We want to provide our members with the facts about NAIS and get feedback from them," White said. "We want folks to know that Farm Bureau is involved at the state and national level in helping develop a workable national animal identification system." Keith Stimpert, OFBF’s vice president of government affairs, said Ohio Farm Bureau has the same concerns about the proposed program as the American Farm Bureau Federation: how much will the system cost and who will pay for it, will the database of information remain confidential and will producers face more liability issues? "The cost of the program is a large issue. USDA has got to have more money to implement this system," Stimpert said. Kelli Ludlum, AFBF’s director of congressional relations, has said the system could cost as much as $100 million annually. Last year Congress allocated $33 million for the program. Many people don’t understand the program’s purpose or that it is a cooperative federal-state-agriculture industry partnership, White said. The purpose of NAIS is to protect U.S. agriculture by enhancing emergency response capabilities, he said. The goal is to develop a trace-back system that can identify all animals and premises potentially exposed to a serious disease within 48 hours. "Everybody knows how much the first case of BSE cost the cattlemen – countries shut down trade," White said. In 2002, animal and livestock producers started developing what is now known as NAIS because they wanted to protect their animals and livelihoods from the impact of a foreign animal disease. NAIS has a three-pronged approach: premises registration, then animal identification and finally animal tracking. The USDA hopes to have all premises voluntarily registered by 2009. In Ohio, ODA has set up a free registration process, which uses a seven-character code to provide unique identification to each location. Information collected for registration includes address, contact name, type of premises and phone number. Species for registration include aquaculture, bovine (bison, cattle), camelids (llamas, alpacas), cervidea (deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer), equine, goats, pheasants, poultry, quail, ratites (rheas, ostriches, emu, cassowary, kiwi), sheep and swine. Rabbits, cats and dogs do not need to be registered. ODA noted that registration information is confidential and that having a premises ID will not affect liability. Registering a premise does not obligate anyone to participate in the next steps of the program. USDA has not determined yet what forms of identification will be used on the animals or what the potential cost is. NAIS will not require every animal to be tagged; group/lot ID is an option for both large- and small-scale producers who maintain ownership and management control from birth to harvest, White said. USDA hopes to eventually have a database that would keep track all animal movements. The United States Animal Identification Organization (USAIO), a consortium of ag industry representatives, is overseeing the creation of a producer-controlled database for tracking animals. The group plans to implement the first phase of the database this summer with a goal of 1 million animal movements and transactions, according to AFBF, which has a member on USAIO’s board of directors. White emphasized the importance of voluntarily registering premises, noting that doing so helps illustrate that the agriculture industry is willing to be part of a workable animal ID system. Failure to reach the 25 percent voluntary premises registration or other USDA goals could result in the federal government propose that animal identification become mandatory, he said. "Even if the USDA decides to propose mandatory animal ID, it will take years to implement and will require public comment," White said. "Having it voluntary now allows the USDA, Farm Bureau and other industry leaders to work out the details of the program and monitor the progress being made." For more information about NAIS or to register your premises, visit OFBF’s Web site, www.ofbf.org and click on "featured links." Animal ID meeting dates Ohio Farm Bureau is hosting a series of meetings about the proposed National Animal Identification System. The meetings are for Farm Bureau members only, and no reservations are required. For more information, contact Amy Hurst at 614-246-8262 or ahurst@ofbf.org.
NAIS timetable The following are among the U.S. Department of Agriculture's major dates in its timetable for the National Animal Identification System. August 2005 achieved operational premises registration systems January 2007 25 percent of premises registered January 2008 70 percent of premises registered 40 percent of animals identified January 2009 100 percent of premises registered 100 percent of "new" animals identified 60 percent of animals less than one year of age have complete movement data | |