A broad coalition of grassroots agriculture, organic, and consumer organizations is urging the Senate to drop $14 million for the National Animal Identification System from the fiscal 2010 spending bill for the Agriculture Department. The funding was included in the committee markup of the bill on July 7; the bill has not gone to the floor for a final vote. The Senate action comes even though the House zeroed out spending for the beleaguered animal identification program.
In a letter to both Senators and House members, the coalition charged that NAIS places "unfair burdens on family farms and sustainable livestock operations." It also claimed that costs for small operators would be higher than for large confined animal operations where animals could be identified as a pen or a flock – rather than individually. The organizations in the coalition also charged that the program had been promoted by companies, such as eartag and database companies, "who stood to profit directly. These conflicts of interest have never been addressed." The coalition noted that USDA is holding listening sessions in an attempt to resolve the controversy surrounding NAIS, but charged "our unofficial estimate is that more than 90% of the people who have attended the meetings have spoken against NAIS."
If the $14 million for NAIS remains in the Senate appropriations bill after floor debate, it will face another challenge when the bill goes to conference to be reconciled with the House version. Coalition members have vowed to continue to lobby to stop the program.
Daily Commentary provided by Farm Futures, a sister publication of Feedstuffs
