Confidentiality is still the primary concern

By Doug Rich

RFID tags, readers, and scanners are not the biggest concerns of producers as this country struggles to perfect a National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The confidentiality of the information collected and monitored by that technology is still the primary concern of livestock producers.

Speaker after speaker at the ID-Info Expo 2006, sponsored by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA), referred to confidentiality as a major if not the major issue producers have with NAIS. Livestock producers in this country are independent by nature and don't give up information about themselves or their animals easily.

Outside the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo., a small group of protesters flashed placards that read "Say No to NAIS".

"They can't keep the database safe. They can't keep any database safe," said Glenda Phillips, a livestock producer from Arkansas.

Standing next to her, Sue Karber, a producer from Kingfisher, Okla., shook her in head in agreement. "I am not a stakeholder, I am a U.S. citizen who has property," Karber said. "My animals are not a U.S. herd, not an international herd. It is my private property."

Inside Westin Crown Center Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, referred to confidentiality several times in his keynote address.

"I could not be more aware of the importance of confidentiality to our producers, and that's why I do want to address this issue head on," Secretary Johanns said. "First I will tell you that I agree wholeheartedly with the livestock producers who believe that information about your livestock is your business, period. As I said, as someone born and raised on a farm in Iowa and as your Secretary of Agriculture, I do not believe I should be in the business of possessing your information, your personal business information."

Secretary Johanns believes that an animal ID system that is controlled by private databases in the states and not by USDA will be more secure.

"Animal movement information registered in the private animal tracking database is private," Secretary Johanns said. "It should not be a USDA record. That information cannot be released by USDA because we don't own it and we don't control it, nor should we."

Many producers have expressed concern about other federal agencies or activist groups going after premise ID or animal movement information stored in NAIS databases. Sec. Johanns said that by law USDA cannot alter its Privacy Act and make records available to other agencies.

"We simply can't do it even if we wanted to and I will tell you we don't want to," Secretary Johanns said. "You have said you are worried that an activist group will request premise data which would contain names and addresses and other information about your premises. Let me assure you that names and addresses are protected under the Privacy Act, so again that information cannot and would not be released."

Confidentiality is key

Kelli Ludlum, American Farm Bureau Federation, said confidentiality is the biggest issue they hear about from their Farm Bureau members.

"At first it was cost, confidentiality, and liability, but the biggest issue that is still unresolved is confidentiality," Kelli Ludlum said.

"I think they are mostly concerned about potential leaks," Ludlum said. "We feel very comfortable with this Secretary's ability to keep information and stand up to Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests, but our concern is if there is enough statutory protection. For example if leadership changes and another person is in that spot will they share those views."

Ludlum said that once the database has been tapped in to by state and federal animal health officials Farm Bureau members have some concerns about how far the Privacy Act really goes in being able to keep all that information confidential.

"Certainly the best way to insure confidentiality is for Congress to pass a confidentiality bill to make it statutory and make that information exempt from FOIA requests," Ludlum said.

When asked about the possibility of Congress passing such legislation Secretary Johanns said FOIA requests do not apply to private companies.

"The way I invision this system is that we don't have possession of the animal data," Secretary Johanns said. "It is in the hands of the private sector. Private companies go to individual producers and say this what I can do in terms of the traceability of your livestock. The producer signs up and gives them their records. If a FOIA request comes to USDA we can say we do not have those records. They are in possession of a private business."

Ludlum said the fact that Farm Bureau members can take some comfort in the fact that USDA will not control this information.

"But the fact remains that in order to have a system that does what we really want it to do in terms of an animal health emergency there has to be some access to that data," Ludlum said. "We are comfortable with those health officials having access but our concern is that when they access that information it is our belief that it constitutes public information. What happens to it after that disease investigation is where our members concerns really lie."

Only if an outbreak happens

In his keynote address Secretary Johanns said this information would only be accessed in the event of an animal disease outbreak.

"We will go to the holder of that information and explain to them what we need and the holder will supply it to us," Secretary Johanns said. "Even then only that information relative to the disease outbreak will be collected and retained as a part of that investigation."

Secretary Johanns said he has directed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to create an animal ID system that will hold information about animal movements in the private sector and in the state databases that chose to go in a state direction.

"Animal movement information registered in the private tracking database is private," Secretary Johanns said.

Secretary Johanns said there are a lot of hurdles facing the livestock industry as its works to put an animal identification system in place.

"There are 90 million animals on the hoof at any one time in this country," Secretary Johanns said. "The logistics of that are quite magnificent. Nothing this large has been undertaken before."

Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com.

Date: 8/31/06

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