SPEAKER SAYS NAIS IS NOT DEAD: JUST RENAMED

     Contrary to what you are being told the National Animal Identification System is not dead; just renamed, reworded and still very much alive, This was the message brought to the Ozarks Property Rights Congress meeting in Gainesville Thursday, February 11 by Bob Parker who said he hated to bring that news. “Being one of those who has worked hard over the past four or five years to stop NAIS, nothing would please me and my co-workers more than to be able to report that indeed NAIS has gone away. But sadly it is still here under a new name and coming at us with a reshuffled approach”.  Parker read excerpts from a fact sheet released by USDA Feb, 5th which outlined the new approach.
    The animal identification program will now be called  the Federal Animal Disease Traceability System and premise identification registration numbers are  now “unique location identifiers.”  Parker pointed out that the USDA paper says that since so much tax payer money has been spent on efforts to implement NAIS that as much of the failed program as possible must be salvaged and used in the new program such as use of the NAIS”840″ ear tags. They say it would be fiscally irresponsible to disregard all elements of NAIS.
    USDA acknowledged that massive public opposition to their proposed NAIS program has caused them to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach .
    Parker noted that while USDA says the frame work for the new  approach will emphasize states participation, they are very clear and emphatic on one major point which seems non negotiable in their view. They intend to enforce animal identification at the level of interstate commerce as they said they would do under the original NAIS plan. This would force Missouri producers into their program as the state has practically no in-state feed lots or major slaughter facilities causing nearly all of the states livestock production to cross state lines.
    Addressing the issue of states like Missouri which have passed laws prohibiting forced participation in NAIS, the fact sheet points out that this program is no longer called NAIS and the new framework will spell out what states must do for their animals to be able to move in interstate commerce.
    Parker expressed disdain for those elected officials who quickly put out news releases bragging how they were instrumental in stopping NAIS. “They evidently didn`t read the rest of the story and were quick to make political hay. They do their constituents  a real dis-service by touting a hollow victory.”

OPRC president Russell Wood said links to the the fact sheet Parker was referencing can be found at  www.r-calfusa.com or http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/content/printable_version/faq_traceability.pdf  under Questions and Answers: new animal traceability framework.

GROUP WARNED OF NAIS TAGS BEING PUT ON COWS AT SOME SALE BARNS

 Despite warnings of a winter storm approaching, the Ozarks Property Rights Congress  convened Thursday night, January 28,  in Mountain Grove to hear of the developing storm being perpetrated by the Missouri Department of Agriculture through local sale barns.
    Doreen Hannes spoke to the group about the practice started at some area sale barns, at the direction of MDOA personnel, of tagging cows with National Animal Identification System tags. She said according to all NAIS documents issued over the past several years, it is very clear that “840″ (NAIS) tags must be connected to a premise number of the producer where the animal was born and the premise number of the buyer of the animal. She said this is a back door attempt to bring unsuspecting sellers and buyers of cows into the NAIS premise registration program.
    Missouri passed a law (SB931) in 2008 which prohibits MDOA from forcing NAIS premise registration on citizens. At a hearing on the use of these tags held before Chairman Senator Chuck Purgason’s Government Oversight Committee recently, at which Hannes testified, state vet Taylor Woods and MDOA director Jon Hagler testified there was no official policy on use of the NAIS tags by these sale barn vets. “Some are using them and others are not . It`s up to the market veterinarian”.
    Hannes and others at the OPRC meeting told of sale barn owners and vets saying they had been told by MDOA personnel to use the NAIS tags in cows coming through the sale beginning Jan. 1   Other barns are saying they are not applying the NAIS tags.
    At the Jefferson City hearing, Senator Purgason instructed Woods and Hagler to submit their policy in writing, making certain that it reflects SB 931 requiring NAIS to be voluntary, and send the policy to  all sale barns as there is currently no policy that can be nailed down as MDOA is operating by word of mouth.
    “The sale barns are caught in the middle of this”, said PRC president Russell Wood. “They feel they have to do what MDOA tells them but at the same time they are going to have some mad customers who end up in the NAIS program just by buying or selling at the sale barn. Producers should ask their sale barn if they are using the 840 NAIS tags before they unload”
    Hagler stated in a letter to Senator Purgason that the NAIS tags being used have nothing to do with premise registrations. Hannes said, “Secretary Hagler is either ignorant about the NAIS program or misrepresenting the facts to the Senator. Tags starting with the number “840″ are official NAIS tags and must be tied to the premise of origin. Other wise there is no point in using them, as the stated purpose is trace back.”
    On another matter, a Douglas county property owner involved with a boundary dispute with the Department of Conservation reported that no headway had been made in resolving their differences.  At the Dec. 3rd OPRC meeting attended by department personnel it was agreed the two sides would meet and try to resolve the conflict. That meeting has not been held it was reported.

GROUP WARNED OF NAIS TAGS BEING PUT ON COWS AT SOME SALE BARNS

 Despite warnings of a winter storm approaching, the Ozarks Property Rights Congress  convened Thursday night, January 28,  in Mountain Grove to hear of the developing storm being perpetrated by the Missouri Department of Agriculture through local sale barns.
    Doreen Hannes spoke to the group about the practice started at some area sale barns, at the direction of MDOA personnel, of tagging cows with National Animal Identification System tags. She said according to all NAIS documents issued over the past several years, it is very clear that “840″ (NAIS) tags must be connected to a premise number of the producer where the animal was born and the premise number of the buyer of the animal. She said this is a back door attempt to bring unsuspecting sellers and buyers of cows into the NAIS premise registration program.
    Missouri passed a law (SB931) in 2008 which prohibits MDOA from forcing NAIS premise registration on citizens. At a hearing on the use of these tags held before Chairman Senator Chuck Purgason’s Government Oversight Committee recently, at which Hannes testified, state vet Taylor Woods and MDOA director Jon Hagler testified there was no official policy on use of the NAIS tags by these sale barn vets. “Some are using them and others are not . It`s up to the market veterinarian”.
    Hannes and others at the OPRC meeting told of sale barn owners and vets saying they had been told by MDOA personnel to use the NAIS tags in cows coming through the sale beginning Jan. 1   Other barns are saying they are not applying the NAIS tags.
    At the Jefferson City hearing, Senator Purgason instructed Woods and Hagler to submit their policy in writing, making certain that it reflects SB 931 requiring NAIS to be voluntary, and send the policy to  all sale barns as there is currently no policy that can be nailed down as MDOA is operating by word of mouth.
    “The sale barns are caught in the middle of this”, said PRC president Russell Wood. “They feel they have to do what MDOA tells them but at the same time they are going to have some mad customers who end up in the NAIS program just by buying or selling at the sale barn. Producers should ask their sale barn if they are using the 840 NAIS tags before they unload”
    Hagler stated in a letter to Senator Purgason that the NAIS tags being used have nothing to do with premise registrations. Hannes said, “Secretary Hagler is either ignorant about the NAIS program or misrepresenting the facts to the Senator. Tags starting with the number “840″ are official NAIS tags and must be tied to the premise of origin. Other wise there is no point in using them, as the stated purpose is trace back.”
    On another matter, a Douglas county property owner involved with a boundary dispute with the Department of Conservation reported that no headway had been made in resolving their differences.  At the Dec. 3rd OPRC meeting attended by department personnel it was agreed the two sides would meet and try to resolve the conflict. That meeting has not been held it was reported.

From Doreen Hannes: - This is an article written for distribution to any newspaper or outlet on the NAIS tags being used in Missouri at sale barns. I tried really hard to not insert any opinions on my part.

 There are still a lot of questions I would like the Department of Ag to answer, but we had no invitation to cross examine on behalf of the committee, so it was what it was.

 Thanks, and God bless!

Doreen

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Hearing on Use of NAIS Tags at Sale Barns

© Doreen Hannes

On Thursday, January 13th, 2010 there was a Senate Government Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee hearing at the Capitol on the usage of National Animal Identification System “840″ tags by the veterinarians at sale barns across Missouri.

 The hearing was to allay the confusion amongst sale barns and determine whether or not the Department of Agriculture was following the voluntary parameters set for NAIS in Missouri by the usage of these “840″ tags.

 The NAIS  (National Animal Identification System) is a 3 part program. The first prong is Premises registration with a seven character number permanently assigned to a particular location housing or holding animals. The second prong is the use of these “840″ tags which necessitate a premise id number to be used. The third component is the reporting of movements from the ascribed premises and various other things such as vaccinations and tag replacements and “sightings”. 
 Near the beginning of December it came to light that many sale barn markets in the state of Missouri were using the 840 tags on cows going through chutes who had no official identification. It was reported that as of January 1st, 2010, all cows, with or without official identification, would receive the 840 tags when they went through chutes for health tests or pregnancy checks Different markets reported different criteria for this NAIS “840″ identification of cows. Some producers reported they were told they “had to” use the 840 tags in order to sell cattle at some sale barns.

 In 2008, the Missouri General Assembly passed SB931, prohibiting the Department of Agriculture from mandating or otherwise forcing participation in NAIS, and allowing for the immediate removal from the program of anyone who was assigned a premises id unless they were part of a disease control program or an ongoing disease investigation.

 This hearing was to clear up confusion on the law as it applies to both the state of Missouri and the veterinarians licensed by the state. Chairman, Senator Chuck Purgason, stated, “We want to clear up confusion, and to make sure veterinarians are not violating people’s rights regarding this program.”

 Missouri State Veterinarian, Dr. Taylor Woods and Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Jon Hagler, did not appear at the beginning of the hearing. A representative from the Department of Ag and a veterinarian with the State Vet’s office, Dr. Linda Hickle, appeared, but knew little of policy and stated that the Secretary and State Vet were not aware that they were to be present at this hearing.

 Three other individuals testified at the hearing and during the last testimony, the State veterinarian and Secretary of Agriculture came into the hearing room.

 They testified that they had no official written policy on the usage of the “840″ tags and had communicated with the market veterinarians by face to face contact regarding the allocation of the 100,000 “840″ tags the Department has received from the USDA. They stated they had no particular agreement as to the distribution and application of the NAIS tags, but that the application of the tags was to be at the discretion of the market veterinarian.

 The Department was instructed by the Committee to write and distribute to all market veterinarians instructions on the usage of these “840″ tags and to inform the market veterinarians that the application of “840″ tags was to be done solely at the request of the producer in compliance with the law of the State of Missouri.

 No instructions or inquiries were made into how any redress is to be achieved by those who may already have been put into the NAIS program without their knowledge or consent by buying or selling cattle through a market that was applying the tags to all cows from January 1st through the time of the distribution of the letter requiring compliance with the state law.