USDA announces changes to national livestock ID system

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Feb. 5 that the USDA will develop a new, flexible framework for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and will undertake several other actions to further strengthen its disease prevention and response capabilities.

After concluding a listening tour on NAIS in 15 cities across the country, and receiving thousands of comments from the public, states, and all types of livestock producers, the USDA concluded that a new strategy for animal disease traceability is needed.

Among the changes, NAIS will only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce and the system will be administered by the states to provide more flexibility. It will also encourage the use of lower-cost technology and be implemented transparently through federal regulations and the full rulemaking process.

Oregon Farm Bureau policy on livestock identification states that a national system must be voluntary, market-driven, flexible, and economically feasible. The USDA announcement that the current system will be changed was welcome.

"We are pleased at the news that the administration has acknowledged the concerns of Oregon's ranching families, recognizing that onerous and costly regulations on producers ultimately harm the consumer," said OFB National Affairs Specialist Gail Greenman. "Oregon's ranchers take pride in the product they produce and will continue to provide healthy and safe food."

The American Farm Bureau was also encouraged by the USDA announcement.

"It was just overwhelming in the country that people didn't like [the current NAIS system], and I think [the USDA] took that feedback to heart," Mary Kay Thatcher, public policy director of the American Farm Bureau Federation, told the New York Times. "I think it's good they've at least said we're going to do something different."