The USDA published a news release today essentially announcing the cancellation of the controversial National Animal Identification System, better known as NAIS. The title of the news release is USDA ANNOUNCES NEW FRAMEWORK FOR ANIMAL DISEASE TRACEABILITY. While the cancellation of the NAIS program is certainly good news, worth celebrating, now is not the time to let up.

It was the voice of the people in opposition to NAIS and the lack of voluntary participation that dealt it the death blow. It is up to those same people, and hopefully more, to watch out that the new framework does not burden us as NAIS would have.

The USDA published a seven-page FAQ sheet called Questions and Answers: New Animal Disease Traceability Framework. It is worth your time to read. In it, the vision for this new traceablility framework is laid out in their answers to the questions. One strategy remains from NAIS, is that it will still be implemented at the state level.

What is certain is that animal disease traceability will be required for animals moving in interstate commerce. However, each State and Tribal Nation will be able to determine the specific approaches and solutions it wants to use to achieve the minimum animal disease traceability performance measures.

It does seem that the federal program will leave small farmers, who only move animals within their own state, alone. Be watchful, however, of your state government programs.

Animals not moved out of state, as well as small producers who raise animals to feed themselves, their families, and their neighbors, are not a part of the framework’s scope and focus.

Much of what was developed for NAIS will be reused.

The money invested in NAIS will not go to waste. Many elements of the NAIS system can be used in this new animal disease traceability framework, should States and Tribal Nations elect to use them.

I don’t want to be overly cynical, as the discontinuation of NAIS is great news! However, I am suspicious that this is simply a repackaging of the whole program.  Of this, I am extremely wary.