Linda B. Cole

Does anyone know who Ned Coats is, and where he fits into the family tree?

See his picture here.

Today USDA Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture, (phone: 202-720-3631) spoke about the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) plan and timeline. You can see the USDA press release and a transcript of his remarks on their web site.

A summary of Mike Johanns’ speech can be read at NoNAIS.org

Most everyone thinks that the National Animal Identification System is about tracking the movement of cows, for ensuring the safety of our food chain. It’s not!
Oh, if you call your local extension office, or the USDA, they will tell you that’s what it’s for, but if you read the actual document the USDA has drafted, NAIS will include alpacas and llamas, bison, cattle (beef and dairy), deer and elk, horses, goats,
poultry, sheep, and swine. New York State is even including dogs and cats! USDA will also tell you that this program is voluntary. It is not!! Their draft document states that by January 2009 the program will be mandatory. You will have to register your animals, you will have to report any movement of that animal, even if you go on a trail ride! Forget horse shows and 4H.

Do you think all of this is going to be free? Think again. The USDA has stated that the cost will be shared between industry and producers. That means you! You have a horse, or a goat, you don’t sell anything but you are the producer, you will pay for registering your premises, you will pay for registering your animals, and you will pay each time you move that animal or each time someone with an animal visits your home.

Have I mentioned the reports? Every time an animal enters or leaves your premises, you will be required to report the activity. Doesn’t sound too bad. Now, Mom and Dad and the three kids go on a trail ride. That’s five horses and a total of 10 events to be reported. If that doesn’t scare you, how about if you have a small herd of cows, say about 100. Every year you sell 100 calves (100 reports). Sometime after the spring calves are born and before you sell them a storm knocks down a fence and your 100 cows with their calves mosey on over to the neighbors. That’s 400 events to report… 200 going out and 200 coming back in. I don’t even like to think about what someone with a small flock of free roaming chickens will do.

If you’ve not read the USDA Draft Stragic Plan, you should at the very least skim through it to get familiar with what the government has planned for you. The USDA has slipped this plan in the back door without any legislation, so don’t be surprised if you’ve not heard of it before. You’ve heard of it now and its time ‘we the people’ stood up and were counted before it’s too late.

There is a hearing on House Bill 3297 to stop National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in Tennessee at 9 am on April 4th, 2006 in Room 29 of the Legislative Plaza. A list of TN legislators, and their email addresses can be found here.

Hearing on House Bill 3297 to stop National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in Tennessee at 9 am on April 4th, 2006 in Room 29 of the Legislative Plaza.

NoNAIS Org has a list of legislators to contact (with their email addresses).

By Mary Zanoni, Ph.D. (Cornell), J.D. (Yale)
Feb 6, 2006, 18:25

Comments on NAIS “Draft Program Standards” and “Draft Strategic Plan”
I have carefully examined the Draft Program Standards (Standards) and Draft Strategic Plan (Plan) issued by the USDA (the Department) on April 25, 2005, in furtherance of the Department’s proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Many aspects of the Standards and Plan appear to create insurmountable legal, fiscal, and logistical problems. The comments below address five categories of problems:

1. Constitutional infirmities of the proposed program;
2. An enormous economic cost to animal owners, the States, the Department, and, ultimately, to American taxpayers and consumers for a program likely to be ineffectual;
3. Weaknesses in the stated rationales for the program;
4. A lack of consideration of alternative, far cheaper and more easily administered measures which would more effectively protect animal health and food security; and
5. A lack of notice and an opportunity to be heard for medium-scale, small-scale, and home farmers, and for other citizens owning livestock solely for their own use or pleasure, in the Department’s process thus far.

This article is a must-read for anyone not convinced that NAIS is a bad thing. The article is copyrighted, so I can’t reproduce it here, but you can read it in its entirety at Magic City Morning Star

Small farmers and backyard flock/herd keepers are facing a serious threat to their way of life. The government is proposing a Mandatory Property and Animal Surveillance Program that will require the registration of property and individual animals, even if you have only one chicken, pig, cow, etc. This must be stopped, or all small farmers will be driven out of business.

Sign the petition to stop NAIS. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/369063795?ltl=1135563679