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Where will all this listening lead the USDA on NAIS?

At the end of a daylong NAIS listening session held by USDA officials, the question was, ‘where will all this input lead the USDA?’ Texas Farm Bureau director of organization, Joe Maley, told Brownfield he’s not sure, “I wish I knew that answer. It’s been brought up in thislistening session – we’ve been dealing with this, like, seven and eight years. It (NAIS) is a go, start, stop, stop, start, go. It’s been a little frustrating for us.”

Whatever is done, Maley says the underpinnings of NAIS should not be food safety-focused, “Itshould focus on disease control and eradication. This particular program is not designed as a food safety mechanism. This is a disease control.”

And, Maley says any animal id system should remain voluntary. Unless it’s voluntary, market driven, cost effective,confidential with limited liability to producers, he says the Texas Farm Bureau will NOT support it. Maley participated in the group discussions on record at the NAIS listening session in Austin, Texas.