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Industry Members Challenge Secretary’s ID Plans
Nov. 11, 2005 — Animal health officials and industry representatives passed a resolution Wednesday urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to return to the original plans for a public database as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
The resolution, which passed during the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) 109th annual meeting, challenges Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns’ Aug. 30 edict that the animal tracking database be industry funded and privately held. His announcement was a reversal of USDA’s original plan for a public system.
USAHA’s livestock identification committee approved the resolution before it was passed by USAHA members. USAHA is composed of national agricultural organizations and state and federal animal health officials. The NAIS Cattle Working Group brought the resolution to USAHA.
Nancy Robinson of the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) was among the majority of committee members who spoke in favor of the resolution. She criticized the Secretary for failing to “consult fully as he should have with the livestock industry” before altering key elements of the NAIS.
Conversely, Matt Brockmann, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), labeled the resolution “a regressive move” and urged USAHA members to continue with a private database. “We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to this debate, and we owe it to the Secretary to explore if and how this can be implemented,” he said.
The resolution passed after the committee learned that USDA has a tracking system already in place, but has no current plans to use it.
“Yes, we have a tracking system. It is part of the system that USDA helped fund in the Wisconsin Livestock Consortium,” John Clifford, USDA Veterinary Services, said. “We were not sitting on our hands and knees, and we could get that system out relatively quickly. … But having said that, I’m not going to put that system out there, not unless I get instructions [from the Secretary] to do so.”
The resolution also directed the USAHA president to assemble a group of industry stakeholders to meet with the Secretary to discuss solutions.
— by Meghan Soderstrom, Angus Productions Inc.
Nov. 11, 2005 — Animal health officials and industry representatives passed a resolution Wednesday urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to return to the original plans for a public database as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
The resolution, which passed during the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) 109th annual meeting, challenges Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns’ Aug. 30 edict that the animal tracking database be industry funded and privately held. His announcement was a reversal of USDA’s original plan for a public system.
USAHA’s livestock identification committee approved the resolution before it was passed by USAHA members. USAHA is composed of national agricultural organizations and state and federal animal health officials. The NAIS Cattle Working Group brought the resolution to USAHA.
Nancy Robinson of the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) was among the majority of committee members who spoke in favor of the resolution. She criticized the Secretary for failing to “consult fully as he should have with the livestock industry” before altering key elements of the NAIS.
Conversely, Matt Brockmann, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), labeled the resolution “a regressive move” and urged USAHA members to continue with a private database. “We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to this debate, and we owe it to the Secretary to explore if and how this can be implemented,” he said.
The resolution passed after the committee learned that USDA has a tracking system already in place, but has no current plans to use it.
“Yes, we have a tracking system. It is part of the system that USDA helped fund in the Wisconsin Livestock Consortium,” John Clifford, USDA Veterinary Services, said. “We were not sitting on our hands and knees, and we could get that system out relatively quickly. … But having said that, I’m not going to put that system out there, not unless I get instructions [from the Secretary] to do so.”
The resolution also directed the USAHA president to assemble a group of industry stakeholders to meet with the Secretary to discuss solutions.
— by Meghan Soderstrom, Angus Productions Inc.
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