News Release
|
|
Contact:
Jerilyn Johnson, 816-586-5555 |
USAHA
Supports National Animal Identification Work Plan
A
national animal identification work plan, developed by a task force
representing more than 30 livestock organizations, was accepted through a
unanimous resolution at the meeting of the U.S. Animal Health Association
(USAHA) Committee on Livestock Identification Oct. 23 in St. Louis. This
support by USAHA is a positive step toward the establishment of a national
identification program and system for U.S. animal agriculture, according
to Neil Hammerschmidt, chair of the National Food Animal Identification
Task Force. “For the first time, we have a work plan that we can build
from. The resolution requesting the USDA Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) to use the work plan as a guide for the
development of a national program is significant because several species
groups brought it forward as a united industry on this issue,” he said. The
task force, coordinated by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture
(NIAA), spent the past six months developing the “National
Identification Work Plan.” More than 100 representatives of animal
agriculture served on the task force and contributed to its five working
groups: animal disease management, marketability, standards, producer
concerns and funding, authority and oversight. The task force mission is
to ensure the United States has an adequate animal identification system
that supports the financial viability of animal agriculture. It believes
that an animal identification system is needed to maintain the health and
biosecurity of the U.S. herd. ID
task force member Gary Wilson, who currently chairs the National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association cattle health committee, shared his
producer perspective with members of the USAHA livestock identification
committee. Wilson already uses individual identification with his 50-head
purebred Angus herd on his Ohio farm and believes it’s a valuable tool.
But before livestock producers are asked to put another tag on their
animals, he would like to see an identification system developed that will
both accommodate the gathering of data and be industry driven. “It’s
important that the national ID system evolves and moves forward,” Wilson
said. “It has to be accurate, it has to be effective and it has to be
affordable for producers. Within the beef industry we have a lot of issues
and a number of producers who don’t tattoo or tag their cattle. It will
take some education to resolve these issues and move forward.” John
Wortman, chair of the USAHA Livestock Identification Committee, said that,
thanks to the ID task force’s efforts, industry groups are ready to work
more closely with the USDA-APHIS and state animal health officials to
refine the animal identification systems necessary to maintain animal
disease programs in the United States. USAHA is
a national non-profit organization working with state and federal animal The
USAHA resolution calls for the establishment of a joint federal and state
government and industry animal identification development team by January
2003. This team is to use the work plan as a guide to develop an
identification system that will enhance animal disease monitoring,
surveillance, control and eradication in the United States. The
ID task force determined that a 48-hour traceback capability is the
ultimate goal of a national ID system, especially in the event of a
foreign animal disease outbreak in the United States. It concludes that a
national ID system should have the capability to identify all premises
(livestock operations, feedyards, markets, or other stops in the marketing
chain) that had direct contact with a diseased animal within two days
after discovery. It recommends that movement of individual animals or
units of animals be recorded into a central database, or a seamlessly
linked database infrastructure. The
ID task force recommends the integration of radio frequency identification
(RFID) technology as the most feasible means to achieve a 48-hour
traceback system. The
National Identification Work Plan outlines a phase-in program. Phase I,
for example, would implement a National Premises System. Phase II would
implement individual ID, where animals would have an official tag with a
unique visual animal identification number, and later progressing towards
RFID. A group or lot ID number would be used for market swine
identification. In phase III, a system to report animal movements would be
implemented. Industry
organizations and other stakeholders will have an opportunity to review
and comment on the National Identification Work Plan through March 2003.
“This will allow livestock organizations time to review the plan at
their respective conventions, board and committee meetings and to gather
producer feedback,” Hammerschmidt said. To request a copy of the 34-page “National Identification Work Plan,” contact the National Institute for Animal Agriculture at (270) 782-9798, or you can review it on the NIAA Web site: Click
here to view document now. The
National Institute for Animal Agriculture, Bowling Green, Ky., is a
membership-based organization that began operations in 2000. It is a
successor to the Livestock Conservation Institute. NIAA's mission is to be
a forum for building consensus and advancing solutions for animal
agriculture and to provide continuing education and communication linkages
to animal agriculture professionals. # Editor’s
note: For
additional information on the National Food Animal Identification Task
Force contact: Neil
Hammerschmidt, Task Force Chair COO,
Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium (608)
848-5237; nhammerschmidt@wisconsinlivestockid.com
For
additional information on USAHA contact: John
Wortman, Livestock Identification Committee Chair Director,
New Mexico Livestock Board Albuquerque,
N.M. (505) 841-6161; directorlb@prodigy.net |
|
|