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LMA gets down to 'nuts-and-bolts' on COOLThe practical concerns of how the National Animal Identification System and mandatory country-of-origin labeling (mCOOL) will impact America's livestock producers and livestock markets were major topics during Livestock Marketing Association's recent Washington, D.C., Fly-In. LMA members from across the country met with key members of Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the fourth annual Fly-In. The discussions "got down to the nuts-and-bolts, 'how will we handle this out in the country?' level," said LMA President Jim Santomaso. Concerning the controversial NAIS, Santomaso noted that House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) has said he will be working on a mandatory program next year. "And committee staff made it clear they believe a mandatory program will be necessary at some point to deal with the threat of bioterrorism, animal disease control and eradication, and global marketing demands," Santomaso said. "We continue to stress," he said, "the importance of consulting with all industry sectors to make NAIS workable and cost effective. If a mandatory system comes about, it must not be imposed on the industry in a short amount of time, but in a phased-in manner, so it does not disrupt the industry's normal flow of commerce." Other concerns LMA has about NAIS, he said, are the costs to producers and to markets "for the equipment necessary to read ID tags and, beyond that, the expenses that could be incurred to retro-fit markets taking part in the program." Santomaso, who operates a market in Sterling, Colo., said maintaining "the speed of livestock commerce is very important, to producers and to markets. We are concerned that current ID technology may not be able to maintain that speed, particularly in the larger markets. "At the same time," he said, "if markets have to tag livestock at their facilities, as a customer service, what will this do to slow down a sale?" LMA representatives also talked to Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bruce Knight about mCOOL, scheduled to go into effect Sept. 30. "There are several issues that must be worked out by that date," Santomaso said. "For example, it is likely that a producer-signed affidavit, verifying origin, will be acceptable." Markets want to know, he said, how they will get this information, and how they will reliably pass it along the ownership chain. "September 30th is not that far away, and in cattle country, we need answers sooner rather than later." LMA members also discussed with Knight the possible interface between NAIS and mCOOL Knight has said, Santomaso noted, that the official "USA-840" coded ear tags to be used in NAIS will be allowed to certify the animal is of U.S. origin, with no further documentation or recordkeeping required. "It's clear," the marketman said, "that since the 840 tag will be used with only livestock of U.S. origin, it could also be used to verify origin for mCOOL. "Obviously, more information on how this would be done is needed. But for those of us in marketing, the 840 tags could be a more effective management tool for origin verification, with less paperwork and recordkeeping, than affidavits that have to be passed along." Undersecretary Knight "was very open to our ideas, and very forthcoming about the challenges we all face in implementing these programs. That's why these Fly-Ins are so important--we get to express our views, and then get feedback from those in charge," Santomaso said. "Those of us in marketing look forward to continuing these discussions with members of Congress and USDA officials," he said. LMA members participating in the Fly-In, April 27 to 30, in addition to Santomaso and his wife, Becky, were Charles Adami, Baraboo, Wis.; Cal Green, Roanoke, Ala.; David Macedo, Tulare, Calif.; Joey Martin, Williamston, N.C.; J.D. and "Sugie" Sartwelle, Sealy, Texas, and Curt and Heather Sporleder, Unionville, Mo. LMA is North America's largest membership organization dedicated to supporting, representing and communicating with and for the entire livestock marketing sector. 5/26/08 Date: 5/22/08
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