2010-03-11

Fed’s NAIS – dead, but not forgotten?

By Judith Pannebaker

Several years ago, officials with the United States Department of Agriculture came up with a scheme to tag, number and monitor electronically every farm animal, including cows, goats, sheep, horses and chickens, among others, in America.

The idea was to transfer information gleaned to a federal database. Recently that became the straw that apparently broke the camel’s back. And, yes, under what most small producers deemed an “ill-starred and untenable program,” camels would have been monitored, too.

The administration of President George W. Bush came up with the voluntary program in 2004 after mad cow disease was reported the previous year. The program was purportedly designed to assist authorities quickly identify and track livestock within 48 hours during outbreaks of animal diseases.
However, faced with stiff resistance from ranchers and farmers, the Obama administration recently announced it would scrap the proposed National Animal Information System (NAIS). In abandoning the program, however, officials vowed to start over and attempt to devise a livestock-tracing program that might win widespread industry support.

This prompted one opponent to postulate the idea might morph into monikers to include “animal ID,” “information systems,” “food safety,” “animal health emergency management,” and “animal security,” among others.

Originally, NAIS consisted of three sections – premises registration by 2007, animal registration by 2008 and reporting any movement of livestock from registered premises by 2009.

However, if NAIS had become mandatory, anyone with animals would have been required to distinguish them with an radio frequency identification (RFID) tag – or a similar unique identifier – and register them with the federal government. The owner would be given just 24 hours to report the birth, death, slaughter, transport or sale of any tagged or registered animal– or face huge fines.

However, government officials didn’t reckon on encountering fierce resistance to the plan in the Lone Star State – and almost everywhere else. In 2006, concerned Bandera County ranchers and farmers even signed an anti-NAIS resolution.

Additionally, critics called the program expensive and time-consuming for small farmers and ranchers. Many of those affected argued the program would force them into bankruptcy. They also feared the government would eventually make NAIS mandatory, which raised concerns about privacy issues. Many also doubted the efficacy of the program.

Bowing to opposition, the US Department of Agriculture announced last month that it would drop the controversial NAIS plan. During a series of public hearings last year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack learned firsthand the extent of the opposition to the NAIS program.

The New York Times reported Mary Kay Thatcher, public policy director of the American Farm Bureau Federation, as saying, “It was just overwhelming in the country that people didn’t like it, and I think they took that feedback to heart.” She added, “I think it’s good they’ve at least said we’re going to do something different.” Originally a proponent of the proposed identification program, the Farm Bureau reconsidered its support after its many members – not to mention county and state components – expressed concerns about the program.

In a February press conference, Vilsack stated, “After concluding our listening tour on the National Animal Identification System in 15 cities across the country, receiving thousands of comments from the public and input from states, tribal nations, industry groups and representatives for small and organic farmers, it is apparent that a new strategy for animal disease traceability is needed. I’ve decided to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach to animal disease traceability with changes that respond directly to the feedback we heard.”

Vilsack went on to say any new identification would be of a smaller scope with emphasis placed on tagging and monitoring animals involved in interstate commerce. The feds apparently intend to leave overall livestock tracking to the individual states.

Missouri’s Senator Jim Talent and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress that would prohibit the USDA from imposing a “mandatory” animal identification program on livestock owners. The companion bills will also prohibit the use of federal funds to support any state program that mandates participation.