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NATIONAL
ANIMAL
IDENTIFICATION
SYSTEM
UPDATE
January
30,
2007
New
NAIS
User
Guide
On
November
22,
2006,
the
USDA
released
its
latest
version
of
a
Draft
User
Guide,
replacing
all
previously
published
program
documents.
This
is
a
74-page
document
which
can
be
accessed
by
going
to:
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/naislibrary/userguide.shtml.
There
is
a
place
to
click
that
will
take
you
to
the
User
Guide.
Along
with
the
much
publicized
User
Guide,
USDA
released
an
announcement
of
$14
million
in
funds
available
for
states
and
tribes
to
implement
NAIS.
The
announcement,
some
28
pages
in
length,
can
be
viewed
at:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/mrpbs.fmd/VS_2007_NAIS_Announcement.pdf.
This
announcement
makes
it
very
clear
that
the
funds
come
with
conditions,
in
particular
meeting
participation
goals.
News
Article
(Unknown
Origin/Date)
Although
I
cannot
identify
the
source
of
the
following,
it
is
an
obvious
new
article.
The
actual
date
of
the
news
article
is
unknown,
but
it
can
be
inferred
from
its
content
that
it
was
released
sometime
during
the
week
of
Nov.
26
-
Dec.
2,
2006.
The
important
thing
to
remember
when
reading
it
is
that
although
USDA
is
claiming
that
NAIS
is
now
and
will
forever
more
remain
a
voluntary
program
federally,
and
key
word
here
is
“federally,”
they
are
urging
states
to
implement
the
NAIS
at
the
state
level
(mandatorily,
not
voluntarily)
and
are
providing
funding
for
such
implementation.
“National
ID
Is
Dead
“USDA
effectively
and
quietly
knocked
the
National
Animal
Identification
System
(NAIS)
in
the
head
last
Wednesday.
It
did
so
with
the
unheralded
publication
of
the
“NAIS
User
Guide,”
which
replaces
all
former
NAIS
draft
documents.
This
document,
for
the
first
time,
emphasizes
NAIS
as
a
voluntary
program
rather
than
as
a
steppingstone
to
a
mandatory
one.
“In
fact,
at
the
very
beginning,
the
guide
explains,
‘USDA
is
not
requiring
participation
in
the
program.
NAIS
can
help
producers
protect
the
health
and
marketability
of
their
animals
-
but
the
choice
to
participate
is
theirs.’
“Late
last
month
at
a
community
outreach
event
in
Kansas
City,
Chuck
Conner,
USDA
Deputy
Secretary,
and
Bruce
Knight,
USDA
Under
Secretary
for
Marketing
and
Regulatory
Programs,
paved
the
way
for
the
agency’s
backpedaling.
‘Since
we’ve
had
some
confusion
on
this,
we
need
to
be
as
clear
as
we
can
be.
This
is
voluntary
with
a
capital
V.
Not
a
currently
voluntary,
then
maybe
a
mandatory
system.
This
is
a
permanently
voluntary
system
at
the
federal
level,”
Conner
said.
“
‘We’re
making
it
crystal
clear
that
NAIS
is
voluntary
-
no
ifs,
ands
or
buts,’
explained
Knight.
‘Farmers
can
choose
to
register
their
premises.
They
can
choose
to
participate
in
individual
animal
or
group
identification.
And
they
can
opt
to
be
part
of
tracking.
Or
not.’˝
Opt
Out
Procedure
for
Premises
Registration
An
article
dated
January
29,
2007
by
Henry
Lamb
appeared
in
The
Eco-logic
Powerhouse,
the
publication
of
the
Environmental
Conservation
Organization.
Among
other
things,
the
author
writes
that
USDA
has
decided
to
provide
an
“opt
out”
procedure
for
people
whose
premises
have
been
registered
in
the
National
Animal
Identification
System.
He
also
describes
the
proceedings
of
the
October
16,
2006
meeting
of
the
United
States
Animal
Health
Association’s
Livestock
Identification
Committee.
Lamb’s
article
can
be
found
at:
http://freedom.org/news/200701/29/lamb.phtml
The
Report
of
USAHA’s
Livestock
ID
Committee
(15
pages)
can
be
found
at:
http://www.usaha.org/committees/reports/2006/report-id-2006.pdf
State
NAIS
Coordinators
can
be
found
at:
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/contact_us/directories.shtml
Ray
Hoyt
NPGA
President
NAIS
Coordinator
NPGA
HER
Committee
Member
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