Posted by Matt Hawes on 12/29/08 7:33 PM Last updated 12/29/08 7:33 PM   [Newer: Member Blog Spotlight] [Older: "A Relentless Urge to Approve Any Loan"]

Thanks to Deb Wells for passing along the following press release from R-CALF USA:

R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America

Group Wins Major Animal ID Dispute;

USDA Cancels Mandatory Premises Registration Directive

Billings, Mont. — Just over a month after R-CALF USA sent a formal letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Veterinary Services (APHIS-VS) demanding that the agency retract Memorandum No. 575.19 issued on Sept. 22, 2008, APHIS-VS officially canceled that particular memo on Dec. 22, 2008.

Memorandum 575.19 mandated premises registration under the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) for producers engaged in interstate commerce and who participate in any one of the dozen or more federally regulated disease programs.

R-CALF USA told the agency in its Nov. 10, 2008, letter that the memo "constitutes an unlawful, final regulatory action initiated and implemented without public notice or opportunity for comment, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act," and must be retracted.

"We caught USDA in the unlawful act of trying to convert what was promised to be a completely voluntary animal identification system into a mandatory NAIS, and the agency backed down," said R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian who also chairs the group's animal health committee. "This goes to show how an organized group of cattle producers can effectively defend their rights if they stand and fight together."

The cancellation memorandum issued by APHIS-VS on Dec. 22, 2008, states, "VS Memorandum No. 575.19 dated September 22, 2008, is hereby canceled."

"This action by USDA confirms what we've been saying all along — that USDA does not have the authority to implement NAIS and it is using underhanded and unlawful methods to coerce independent cattle producers into giving up their rights to their property," said Kenny Fox, who chairs the group's animal identification committee.

"R-CALF USA encourages producers to not register their premises under the NAIS and to immediately request that their names and property be removed from the NAIS database if they had previously registered under USDA's coercive actions," Fox urged.

The new APHIS-VS memo further states that APHIS-VS "has an established procedure for producers who request their premises record be removed from the NAIS premises databases."

R-CALF USA advocates that USDA should use and improve existing disease traceback methods including state-sanctioned brand programs that do not require individual producers to register their property under a national premises registration program in order to improve USDA's disease traceback capabilities.

"There is no need to violate producers' private property rights to accomplish this objective, and R-CALF will continue to work with Congress and USDA to improve our existing systems, but we will not tolerate the type of government intrusion on our industry that USDA envisioned with NAIS," Fox concluded.

Note: To view/download R-CALF USA's letter or the new APHIS-VS memorandum, please visit the "Animal Identification" link at www.r-calfusa.com or contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson to request copies.

R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located acrss 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. R-CALF USA directors and committee chairs are extremely active unpaid volunteers. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.

Posted 12/29/08 8:00 PM freezen Palmer, AK

Finally!!

Posted 12/29/08 8:36 PM Heather D Port Byron, IL

This is really great news. Thanks for the update!

Posted 12/29/08 8:52 PM Mike in Virginia Fredericksburg, VA

Always great to hear about those rare victories over the government. But I have to admit that all of the acronyms had me reading the article several times to understand what it was saying. lol

Posted 12/30/08 1:02 PM Elaine Prairie City, OR

R-CALF USA could use donations to support their ongoing lawsuits to keep U.S. cattlemen in business. At present they are working to keep JBS (a Brazilian company) from aquiring National Beefpacking Company. See the details of this here: http://www.ellinghuysen.com:80/news/articles/79780.shtml For those of you who own cattle,dues are $50 per year and they work hard for us.

Posted 12/30/08 6:38 PM Deb Wells Kansas City, MO

Vote on this issue - it's at #2: www.change.org/ideas/view/stop_nais

Posted 12/30/08 8:09 PM Lazy Spider Winthrop Harbor, IL

Good news on a website that usually informs me of the bad news noone else does. quite uplifting.

Posted 12/31/08 06:35 AM homesteader8 Manakin-Sabot , VA

Some good news finally!! Thanks for the uplift! I"ll follow up on the foregoing suggestions.

Posted 12/31/08 08:21 AM Penny Worth Boynton Beach, , FL

Great news!..Hopefully there will be more good news to come on all fronts as people wake up.

Posted 12/31/08 1:35 PM 4liberty3 Saginaw, MI

This is great news! Hooray for those cattle farmers who stood together against a bullying government agency to defend their rights!!!!!

Posted 12/31/08 7:01 PM RichardTaylorAPP Ashland, OR

This is certainly good news, as the American Patriot Party has been adamantly opposed to registering either man, animal or ones location for some time; Which was a clear attempt and violation to being secure in one's papers, property and effects. Animal and location registration was simply another back door excuse for the government to search and ransack one's private property records.

Posted 01/01/09 09:43 AM navnek Mauston, WI

The news is not so good on the WI front, as we already have premises (farm) registration mandated. And an Amish farmer near Loyal, WI was given a huge fine for not registering: http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/article/20081231/MNH0101/812 310374/1980

Posted 01/02/09 08:39 AM CharlotteJuett Genoa, NE

Wisconsin was one of the first states to get huge amounts of money from the USDA to implement their mandatory NAIS program and with the number of dairy farmers in the state they already had a huge database of farmers from which to draw, and input the whole database into the NAIS program. So far, the lawsuits against the program have not stopped the state from proceeding. Keeping up the fight is vital to stopping the USDA from implementing a mandatory program.

Posted 01/03/09 1:10 PM voxpopuli sanford, FL

why is everyone cheering this on? sure, i don't like government intrusion, but it's different when corporate fat cats slaughter millions of animals and people due to their disgusting processing methods. only about .0005714% of cattle are tested for mad cow disease through the NAIS program and calves are fed cattle blood, which may contain mad cow disease. using government intrusion is a cop out. they don't like this program because they know it'll cost them money if their cattle is found to be diseased and needs to be recalled. that's right. they want to make money from feeding you diseased meat. the NAIS can trace animals back to a specific farms so they can be held accountable. how does this infringe on their rights? rather than testing all meat before it is consumed we have a method of intervention that lacks to begin with. the usda even states that all information is confidential between farmers and health officials. i think this is horrifying for consumers, and farmers actually have it pretty good. they poison are meat with pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and steroids and we should be happy for them? wake up people! the usda lies and manipulates results. the NAIS system sucks, but we need something better. all meat should be tested. and all food should be unadulterated. r-calf needs to be abolished along with the usda.

Posted 01/03/09 1:15 PM voxpopuli sanford, FL

correction 'they poison *our* meat.' cancer anyone? the cattle industry has billions of dollars. do not donate money! support your local organic farms. always buy organic! healthfreedomusa.org watch 'the future of food,' 'super size me,' 'fast food nation,' and any peta video read 'fast food nation,' 'the jungle,' 'skinny bitch'

Posted 01/05/09 10:15 AM Jeremie Puryear, TN

I am guessing that with "R-CALF USA, as of December 31, 2007, has over 12,000 members in 47 states, as well as many state and local producer affiliates." from http://www.r-calfusa.com/faq.htm 12,000 members and a 1 vote per member rule that the large corporate beef growers are not all that high in the majority of votes. Also, if R-calf is against government regulation of their industry then I am all for it. The USDA has perverted the "Organic" label to that point of it being meaningless. Independent orgs should determine what their level of "organic" is and determine if the farm is meeting that standard, then you as a consumer can pick the definition of organic that best matches your own definition and buy food from farms that are registered with that organization. Jewish people do not have the US Govt decide if food is Kosher, there are independent orgs that do this.

Posted 01/05/09 12:51 PM voxpopuli sanford, FL

good job on leaving out the part about members being required to own cattle. which should be obvious....that it's a conflict of interest. ok, so maybe the big guns don't have much power though r-calf individually....who do you think everyone is there to support...themselves and eachother. no one wants to lose money. also, who says they're even registered with r-calf? the site reads r-calf members 'are serious about ensuring the continued profitability of their industry.' profitability. not safety and qaulity. how many independent organizations do you know of that can finance a national beef testing program? also, i know that the usda is a joke; read my first comment. i buy local, and try to buy products certified organic by multiple organizations. i don't eat meat and i'm planning on starting my own garden. the issue isn't just government intrusion.

Posted 06/19/09 10:57 PM Sheldon Nordhues Fremont, NE

We are preparing for our listening session in Omaha in two weeks. Please read my post and leave any comments that you may have, especially suggestions. Please forward it on when you are done, we would like to have a large petition. Thanks! Sheldon Nordhues Douglas County Coordinator Nebraska