11/30/06 Voluntary animal I-D

There has been a lot of talk that USDA's planned voluntary National Animal Identification System would someday become mandatory. USDA undersecretary Bruce Knight says it's all talk, nothing more. KNIGHT "This is a voluntary program. Voluntary, voluntary, voluntary." Rick Stott with the Northwest Pilot Project agrees with Knight. STOTT "I think that's the only way that this animal identification program becomes reasonable and realistic is by making it an evolution rather than a forced march." Stott says for animal identification to be successful the program has to be producer driven. In his opinion that's happening today. STOTT "I've seen in the last three months some terrific progress being made particularly on the national level. We're seeing progressive producers adopt animal identification as part of other programs, value added programs. That's where it needs to start." Stott says there's one caveat to all of this. USDA can say one thing but the newly elected Congress could put mandatory requirements into the Farm Bill that will be written in next year. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott