|
The wheels of progress can turn slowly. Such would be the case with the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). For the last several years, federal and state animal health agencies have been formulating and implementing a system of keeping track of the nation's farm animal population. The goal is to improve traceability so that in the event of a major disease outbreak, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), sick and exposed animals can be traced back to the source. The first phase of that effort has been to get all livestock farms registered with a premise ID number. It's a monumental task, as there are nearly 1.5 million such farms in the U.S., more than a few of which are distrustful of government efforts to track them.
Nevertheless, 406,000 livestock farms have now been registered with a premise ID number, or 28% of the total. That's up from 300,000 registered farms a year ago. But at this pace it will take another 10 years just to get the farms identified. Then will come the work of tagging animals and tracking movement. In an exclusive interview this week with Agriculture Online, John Clifford, deputy administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service veterinary program, said that the NAIS program has recently signed agreements with industry organizations to speed up the premise registration efforts. The program works with such groups as the National Pork Board, FFA and the U.S. Animal Identification Organization. The USAIO is a private nonprofit group, spearheaded by the National Cattlemen's Beef Organization, that proposes to administer the animal ID database. "We're making a lot of progress," said Clifford. "We're in the process of setting some benchmarks for tracking the progress. It won't be long. "Yes, we've heard the opponents to NAIS," he continued. "I don't think they're as vocal now as they used to be. We've reached out to them and answered their concerns. As producers hear more of what the NAIS is all about, they get past the fears." Clifford said that the word "mandatory," which was part of the early discussion of NAIS, was a lightning rod to some producers. "We've made it clear that this program is going to be voluntary. And it's only about traceability in the event of a disease outbreak, that's the real purpose. It's about saving your herd and your neighbor's herd, so we can find the animals involved and those exposed, and safeguard them." Clifford's agency will provide funding to groups such as the FFA to help with premise registration. In some cases, the youngsters may go door-to-door to sign up premises, but it may be more about them talking to their parents and neighbors about the value of NAIS. Several states have had great success in recent months of getting farms registered, Clifford said. Indiana has made great progress through state beef organizations, and Iowa has had the most new farms registered this year, primarily through door-to-door efforts of various farm groups. At a recent meeting in Texas, state groups shared their innovative ideas for reaching out to farmers. "This is worth the effort," Clifford concluded. "It's truly about protecting American agriculture." He also said that six different ear tags, from four companies, have been approved as NAIS compatible. The four companies are:
|
||||||||||
