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Voluntary premise registration begins in 2005 for Missouri Animal ID Program, state vet says
Missouri
Beginning early next year, Missouri livestock producers, sale barn owners, veterinary clinics and others involved in animal agriculture will be able to register their premises voluntarily with the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
Registering locations involved in livestock commerce is the first step toward implementing the Missouri Animal Identification Program, Missouri state veterinarian, Taylor Woods said.
"We've needed this for 20 to 25 years," Woods told a group of producers gathered at the 4th annual Missouri Livestock Symposium in Kirksville. "It's not because of food safety. It's not because of COOL. It's because of disease trace-back."
The goal of the program, which is Missouri's implementation of the National Animal Identification System, is to have the ability to locate a herd in which a disease originated within 48 hours of detection.
"We don't want to get involved with your operation or management system," Woods said. "You manage your cattle like you want to. We just want to be able to reduce the financial and social impacts of animal disease. It's not a matter of if, but when, we'll have an outbreak. I have an obligation to keep you in business through all this."
Michael Coe, a Utah veterinarian who has served on a national subcommittee evaluating ID technologies, spoke twice at the livestock symposium. He said the premises identification numbers are coded so that individual premises can't be identified by state. "Each will consist of seven alphanumeric characters that are randomly assigned," he said.
Once premises are registered, the next step in the program is individual animal and group lot identification, Woods said. Currently, the rules and procedures for individual animal identification have not been established for the national system.
"Under the NAIS, there is a working group for each species," Coe said. "These groups include representatives from industry professionals, breed associations and organizations, government agencies and producers. The groups are determining how best to implement the system for their respective species, but nothing is finalized yet."
Coe said the national identification system is separate from country-of-origin labeling, or COOL. "The ID system deals with live animals," he said. "When they walk into the packing plant, that's where ID ends."
After listening to Woods' presentation, Coe said that Missouri is well in the lead of other states in the premises registration process. Although the system currently is voluntary, Coe said that a mandatory system could be in place as early as 2007, but "that timeframe is subject to change," he said.
The Missouri Department of Agriculture website, http://www.mda.mo.gov, will have a link to an online registration site early in 2005. Any location where animals are born, managed, marketed or exhibited is encouraged to register.
Richard Randle, University of Missouri Extension veterinarian, said that MU Extension has offered to assist the department with educating producers and others about premises registration.
"Through county offices, we can help improve awareness of the program and answer questions to facilitate registration," he said.
For more information about premises registration, contact Deputy State Veterinarian Steve Goff at 573-751-2540 or Steve.Goff@mda.mo.gov, or Greg Onstott, animal ID specialist, at 573-751-7766 or Greg.Onstott@mda.mo.gov.
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