USDA listenting sessiion on NAIS in Pasco next week

Washington Ag Today May 12, 2009 Washington is one of seven states in which USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, AHIS, is holding a listening session on the National Animal Identification System. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says USDA needs to hear directly from stakeholders as they work together to create an animal disease traceability program everyone can support.

Vilsack: “We began that with a very comprehensive discussion here at USDA in Washington D.C., 28, 29 presenters. We are going to continue to listen, continue to learn.”

The listening sessions will include information about the current program, as well as providing an opportunity to give public testimony or ask program-related questions.

The Washington listening session will next Monday, May 18th at the TRAC in Pasco. The meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with registration one hour prior to the meeting.

A tour of leafy spurge integrated vegetation management trials will take place on the Dennis Bly ranch near Harrington, Washington on May 19th. Participants will meet at the USDA Service Center (1310 Morgan St) in Davenport, Washington at 12:30 p.m. to carpool to the field site. The tour will end at 3:00 p.m.

The project was funded by a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Farmer/Rancher grant. Approximately 260 head of goats have been grazed on the site for the last two years, once in May and a second time in October. A third treatment with the goats will be completed this year. The goats will be on site during the tour. A species of flea beetle was also released on the site by the Lincoln County Noxious Weed Board in July 2007.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.