|
The
Animal Identification and Information Systems Committee met on Wednesday,
April 5, 2005 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM CST, during the NIAA 2005 Annual
Meeting in St. Paul Minnesota, with 140 people present.
Dr. Robert Fourdraine served as the Chair and Drs. John Hunt and Cris
Young served as the Vice-Chairs.
Committee
chair, Dr. Robert Fourdraine, welcomed members and reviewed committee
structure. The Animal
Identification and Information Systems committee also includes a
subcommittee Equine ID with Ms. Amelita Facchiano.
The
committee session focused on the NAIS development.
The
following speakers presented relevant information:
USDA
Undersecretary Bill Hawks:
Set the stage,
background. Asked for help to
get confidentiality legislation moving forward and stated program would go
mandatory in 2009 pending resolution of the confidentiality issue. Report to Congress was submitted by Secretary Johanns on4
April 2005. The Draft Strategic
Plan will be published early to mid May in the CFR.
Mr.
Neil Hammerschmidt, USDA-APHIS-VS:
Began with an update of
the premise registration system showing state adoption.
Next moved into discussion of Animal ID and tracking system.
AIN system discussion centered on current efforts with an August 2005
roll out. AIN system will not
be in final format when introduced. Tag
approval process was discussed. Then
moved into discussion of AIN managers.
Highlighted a newly published 40 page document to review the 43 USDA
funded projects. Wrapped up
with the Draft Strategic Plan broadly discussing what will be included in
the plan.
Dr.
Mark Spire, KSU:
Discussed USDA funded
project on RFID plus GIS utilized for animal movement.
500-600 trucks daily are moving into Kansas with cattle.
Goal is to track 20,000 head of cattle.
Reads are done moving onto and off of the truck.
Question: Do you have
trouble with the tuning of the reader?
Answer: No auto tuning
system works well.
Dr.
Mick Riesinger, North Dakota State University
: Calf Aid Project.
25 herds with 4,672 head in project.
Emphasized that RFID tags must be tamper resistant.
Utilized high frequency RFID with excellent read rates at distances
up to 22 feet. Stressed producer participation needs to be solicited.
Mr.
Brian Bolton, CEO Allflex
: Currently working with
30 nations on national animal identification programs.
The US needs to develop a simple system based on proven technology
and build from there. Education
is an enormous task. Today’s
answer is LFRFID. This may not
be the case in 3-5 years and Allflex is aggressively pursuing new
technology. Discussed ISO
standards and discussed why ISO compliant does not address performance
standards. Start with minimal requirements, begin with proven
technology, move on from there.
Panel
Discussion: Dr. Clarence
Siroky, Dr. Todd Thrift, Dr. Dave Wiklund, Mr. Tod Fleming
-
Tod
Fleming: There is no
off the shelf system available today that will read at the speed of
commerce without customization. Would
prefer to be able to read multiple animals.
-
Dr.
Siroky: Ergonomics of
tagging has not been addressed. Tagging
hundreds of animals could well result in a trip to the orthopedist.
Acceptance has been tremendously positive during the process of
premise registration in Idaho.
-
Dr.
Thrift: Florida
producers have very little resistance to the NAIS plan especially the
premise registration plan. Producers
are not opposed to tagging cattle prior to entering commerce.
Producers are interested in group movements while livestock
markets are concerned that allowing group movements will put them at a
competitive disadvantage.
-
Dr.
Wiklund: Minnesota
producers are concerned about confidentiality, cost, increased labor,
market flow, and technology aversion.
Questions:
-
How
is NAIS going to affect county fairs?
-
Where
did Idaho get the batch data for entry into the premise ID system?
-
How
many Minnesota producers responded to premise ID cards you mailed out?
-
Was
the read issue a problem with tags or readers?
Questions
for Mr. Hawks and Mr. Hammerschmidt:
-
Where
is the FY05 $33 million funding?
-
How
do you see the confidentiality issue play out over the next year or so?
-
Will
the program become mandatory once federal confidentiality is passed or
will all states have to pass similar legislation?
-
Has
the Whitehouse weighed in on supporting the confidentiality legislation?
-
How
are we going to address standards like ISO devices vs performance
issues?
-
Are
standards going to limit competition in the tag and reader industry?
Mr.
Allen Bright, NCBA
: NCBA
has passed policy on a privatized database.
NCBA will vigorously pursue this option only. NCBA has confidentiality policy.
NCBA is working on tax credit policy for tags, readers,
infrastructure investment, etc. Should
be submitting a request for proposal by first of June for a database. Summary, “this is still America and we don’t think we
should have to
Mr.
Jay Mattison, National DHIA
: Began
by describing the history and origins of DHIA.
100 years of experience has not shown the confidentiality of a
public-private database to be a concern.
Old
Business:
None
New
Business:
Two
amended resolutions, two new resolutions.
General
discussion: None
Committee
Session adjourned at 6:10 pm.
|
