I did attend the Animal I.D. Informational meeting, sponsored by Independent Cattlemen of Iowa (ICI), on December 5, 2006. The meeting was held in Lamoni, Iowa. I would estimate there were about 250 people there, with about 50 of them being Amish. The speakers were Derry Brownfield (farmer and broadcaster), Steve White (Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship NAIS Coordinator), Steve Goth DVM (Missouri Department of Agriculture Animal ID Coordinator), and Ray Cunio (Citizens for Private Property Rights).

Derry Brownfield

Derry Brownfield started his portion of the evening by giving a history lesson. The basic question is, “Should packers be allowed to own livestock?” Owning livestock would give the packers complete control of the market place, thus ensuring large profits. Since they can’t own livestock, they want the next best thing. That is to know where all the cattle are. NAIS delivers that.

Trade agreements also impact the livestock market. The packers want a source of cheap beef. This is made available through free trade agreements with Canada and Mexico. These countries can ship all the beef they want, at any time. Currently, one-third of our food comes from other countries. It’s all about control and lower costs.

Steve White

Steve had a hard act to follow. Derry really knew how to get the crowd going. My impression is that Steve is just trying to do his job. He said that Iowa is only working on Premise ID. They want it for contact information and to be able to warn people when there is a disease outbreak.

Steve indicated that our livestock is free and our markets are free. Indiana and Wisconsin have made it mandatory. Pennsylvania is looking to make it mandatory. Iowa will keep it voluntary. He also said, “No promises.”

Dr. Steve Goth

Dr. Goth is a veterinarian who now works for the state. He stated that ID is a voluntary program in Missouri. with 11,200 premisis registered so far. They are only looking for name, address, phone number, and kinds of animals. He said that all programs need to identify premisis and that this is no different than what they did before.

He also spoke to the issue of state’s rights. The state has the right to protect their herds and flocks. They deal with disease outbreaks through quarantine and depopulation. NAIS is an animal health initiative.

Ray Cunio

Ray has been deeply involved in this issue for 10 months now. There are now more than 200 pages of stuff on NAIS and “the devil is in the details.”

Here is the bottom line, according to Ray:

• 29 animal species involved
• No exceptions on premise registration
• Cattle: RFID of individual animals
• Horses: Implant
• 14 defined movements that you will have to report (within 24 hours)
• They intend to track animals from birth to slaughter
• You can’t get out, once you are in. Premise ID will be a national database.
• Be careful when you buy a place. The ID stays with the premise.
• Voluntary vs. Mandatory is a “shell game.”
• Mandatory is mentioned 23 times in the draft standard.
• How do you get 100% participation with a voluntary program?
• “This is all voluntary at the Federal level.”
• They don’t say that they won’t make it mandatory.
• They have the option to make it mandatory.
• It is voluntary coercion.
• They have thrown it back to the states to do the dirty work.
• There is a cooperative working agreement between every state and the USDA.
• States must have a plan.
• States must explain how the plan supports the time line.
• States get money.
• Cost – What is the whole life cost?
• Confidentiality – What happens when the Freedom of Information Act is invoked?
• Liability – This is a trial attorney’s dream. Disease liability can be traced all the way back to the producer.

Whole life cost:

• Purchase the tag
• Apply the tag
• Purchase wand reader
• Computer
• Software
• Your time
• Slow down by 2/3
• Shrink of the animal

The producer bears the cost. Australia ($37-$40 per head) and U.K. ($65 per head) have animal id now.

Question and Answer

The night ended with a question and answer time. Here are the highlights:

• You will need a premise ID to show at the Missouri State Fair.
• This must be stopped at the state level.
• The Feds are buying the states.
• Only the states have jurisdiction over the states.
• PremIDs can be assigned without your consent when certain events happen.
• Once a premisis is registered, it is permanent.
• The General Accounting Office is doing a cost-benefit analysis next spring.
• USDA will do final rule making next fall.

My impression from this meeting is that most livestock producers don’t want this to happen. However, the bureaucracy is moving forward with little regard to the will of the people. The time is now to be contacting you state and federal officials and representatives to voice your opposition to mandatory premises ID and animal ID.