Washington to Texas
The USDA asked for it and they got it. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back right after this break to tell you what "it" is. The USDA asked for participants to come to their National Animal Identification System (NAIS) listening sessions and attend they did. I hope USDA personnel were ready to listen because animal producers had plenty to say. The NAIS is a plan the USDA has proposed as an aid for 48 hour trace back of animals in case of a disease outbreak. Many producers feel it is more of a control system and have privacy issue concerns. Mostly the attitude of the speakers was totally against a mandatory program. Some said just plain "no" to the idea. Others had alternatives to the plan. The Washington Cattlemen Association felt the system should be voluntary, incorporate group lot ID such as brands through the first comingling, that the Washington State Department of Agriculture should house the Washington database to protect information from disclosure, and the USDA needed to support the state veterinarian's effort to work locally with livestock producers to register contact information. One Texas rancher, Hatch Smith opted for a market-driven system. He has the same idea I have in that he doesn't buy the animal health argument for NAIS. He feels we have a good system in place, citing the fact we haven't had a foot and mouth disease outbreak since 1929. Personally, I think any detrimental outbreak will be caught quickly and dealt with promptly. I'm Jeff Keane.
