NAIS will help some big corporations, like the big beef producers, by opening up export markets for them to other countries.
NAIS will hurt a lot of different people including consumers, pet owners, children, homesteaders and small farmers.
Consumers will face higher meat prices under NAIS because the cost of producing meat will go up with the addition of fees to the government to support the NAIS program. The cost of other foods, like vegetables, will likely also go up as well since the manure from meat animals is used to fertilize the soil to grow better crops. Most importantly, NAIS will result in many small farms going out of business. The consolidation of the meat industry into fewer, big, agri-biz producers means they will have more control of the market and be able to charge higher prices for the same product.
Pet owners will be forced to register their family horse, pet sheep, llamas and other ‘livestock’ that aren’t part of the food chain. This will cost them money and be a hassle with paperwork and premise ID fees each year. Furthermore, every time you want to take your pet to the vet, on a trail ride or even just cross the road you’ll have to submit paperwork with the government and probably pay a fee. Every time. In time, they plan to do the same for pet dogs and cats. See PAWS legislation and the Vermont Pet Merchant bill that requires you to register as a pet dealer if you cat has kittens or your dog has puppies.
Children who are in 4-H or Future Farmers of America will have to register their parents house as a farm and get a Premise ID as well as paying the annual fees and doing paper work every time an animal is bought, sold, shown or moved. This will also stifle county fairs which are already on fragile footing. Figure you’ll not be seeing livestock at fairs of the future - there will just be the midway and amusement rides that are poorly inspected, but no animals.
Homesteaders, people who grow some of their own food, will have to register with the government as a farm and obtain a Premise ID. They’ll also have to pay the annual fees associated with that and fill out the paperwork on all of their livestock. Every time you have chicks, goats, piglets or other animals born you’ll need to register it with the government. Every time an animal dies you’ll have to register it with the government. Got a predator problem? Expect to fill out a lot of paperwork. Have an animal escape the fence and cross the road or go onto a neighbor’s property? Fill out more forms and the neighbor may have to fill out forms, too. Animals come on to your property uninvited? More forms. And no, there are no exceptions. Every livestock animal must be registered, tagged and tracked from birth to death.
Small Farmers who sell direct to their customers will be devastated. Small farmers already work at higher costs than the big factory farms. Under NAIS they’ll have to identify each and every animal at a high cost because they can’t use the group identification techniques of the big Agri-Biz corporations. The big guys do all-in/all-out animal management. Each mass group of animals are of one gene stock and the same age. The factory farms need only apply for one ID to cover the entire group of thousands of animals. Small, traditional-style farmers have many, genetically diverse animals of different ages on their farms. Each individual animal will be required to have an ID. The result is that the cost of farming will go up greatly for small farmers. This is likely to be the final nail in the coffin of small farming. Developers will be over joyed as they buy up farm land at rock bottom prices to divide up into condos and strip malls. Rural America will turn dingy with pavement. Gone will be the fields, pastures and meadows filled with grazing livestock. Vermont can kiss it’s tourist industry good-bye.
Sugar Mountain Farm Customers who buy our pastured pork, pigs, piglets, lambs and chickens will be looking at higher prices because it will cost us more time and money to fill out all the government’s paperwork and pay their ridiculous new fees. I would estimate that this will raise the price by $10 to $15 per animal, possibly more since the full fee structure is not yet known. More over, if you’re buying live animals like laying hens, lambs or piglets then you’ll have to get a Premise ID from the government for your home, pay the annual Premise ID fee and do any paperwork for each and every livestock animal you have as well as paying the associated animal fees. Currently you save money and get better meat by raising it yourself or buying our pasture raised products. Under NAIS you’ll pay more money for the same thing without any benefits.
Big Agri-Biz are the clear winners under NAIS. They will get expanded export markets and legal liability protection at minimal cost. Because small farmers will be forced out of business due to all the additional fees and paperwork the big Agri-Biz corporations will gain more domestic market, bigger monopolies, more market control and higher profits. They’re salivating at the prospect. Not only that, but it will be harder for individuals to raise their own better quality food, it will cost them more money and they’ll face more paperwork and government regulation.
Just what we all need - Not.
I am just a city person but I hate the idea of NAIS. If NAIS goes through it means I won’t be able to buy eggs and meat at the local farmers markets or the prices will go up a lot and famrers will go out of business and I have read that will mean the housing bubble will collapse so the value of my house will fall which could cost me a $100 grand! I dont see any thing at all good about NAIS. Please stop NAIS!
Comment Seim — February 13, 2006 @ 1:17 pm
REAL ID for Animals…
A REAL ID ACT FOR GOATS?
Laura Haggarty sends us information on another government boondoggle that seems almost purposely designed to harass and bankrupt small farmers. It is called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Its alleged purpose …
Trackback DownsizeDC.org Blog — February 23, 2006 @ 1:48 pm
All this new government idea will do is hurt the little people - while helping the people who have more. It is also an invasion of our privacy - which is growing smaller all the time.
I say NOnais.
Comment Y. Nichols — February 26, 2006 @ 9:36 pm
I’m a 4-H poultry leader in a rural community. My three kids raise chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, peafowl, and rabbits. I’m stressed enough about avian influenza wiping us out. I don’t need BIG BROTHER breathing down my neck about growing our own hormone and antibiotic free food. Not to mention the donkeys, horses, cats, etc. we keep for pleasure. What’s next? Are they gonig to start charging my 13 and 11 year olds everytime they hold their bearded dragon or leopard gecko? Maybe I should be paying the gov’t for the fish in the 2 1/2 acre pond on our land. How absolutley possitvely ridiculous can it get? Forget I asked. I’m certain they can think of something!
Comment L. Odom — March 3, 2006 @ 3:04 pm
L. Odom,
your fish in the pond ARE INCLUDED! It is ridiculous.
Comment Sue Foster — March 3, 2006 @ 5:07 pm
Interesting how NAIS is going to improve the market for our cattle internationally… From what I’ve gleaned from the way NAIS is set up, it will open up China and India as potential markets. The other markets will either keep accepting our beef as they already do, or keep refusing our beef as they already do.
Now, opening up two new markets sounds good. But there’s an added flaw in this plan.
India isn’t going to import much if any beef, as the predominant religious position is that cows are not to be eaten.
China on the other hand is a huge market. One which currently EXPORTS beef. If they are exporting their beef, why would they want to import ours in any significant quantity?
It seems that this program is designed to fail in everything it attempts except to step on our rights as American Citizens.
Comment Scott Burton — March 6, 2006 @ 2:30 pm
I am outraged that I will have to have all my horses microchipped (at my expense), my barn registered (at my expense), my horses registered (again at my expense), and that I’ll have to notify government officicals anytime I leave the place with my horses (which is roughly 3-5 times a week) as I am a competitive barrel racer. It’s not their business how many horses I own, or where I take my horses, or where my place is located. There are few, if any instances where horses pass on an infectious disease to humans.
I am livid. We must stop this. Here in Texas, I’ve been bombarding my senators, representatives, Ag committee members etc with email letting them know that this is NOT an OK idea with me.
Comment Jennifer — March 8, 2006 @ 10:15 am
Walter, thank you for this site, I live in Alaska and just in the last 2 weeks notified our horse people about NAIS and have not heard any feed back. I did visit the Ak state Vet site, but where can I find out how close Alaska is in doing this? Where do I look?
Comment Gisela — March 12, 2006 @ 4:47 pm
I am appalled at the idea of having to abide by the NAIS. With my family all being horse owners, we cannot afford to have every horse microchipped, along with our barns and having to report our movements. This must be stopped!
Comment TRIP HANNAH — March 13, 2006 @ 9:20 am
It is amazing the lengths that some government dweebs will go to try and gain power.
Comment Roland — March 13, 2006 @ 3:50 pm
Big Brother is out of control. As a horse competitor, dog owner and chicken owner, it appalls me that the government is inadvertantly attempting to squelch the hobbists who will ultimately discontinue their activities if it requires so much regulation. I guess the outcome of staying in our homes to avoid the threats of disease and law enforcement are the big picture. We must get the word out to stop this insanity. Are we not the free world?
Comment R.Lawrence — March 14, 2006 @ 12:37 pm
The penalty for ignoring this plan is having your animals put to death. How is threatening my little girl’s pony and her pet rabbit protecting this country’s food chain?
The current plan calles for vets to report non-compliance. BTW compliance calls for a transmitter on your animals, barns and HOME. Not all states have begun implementing the program, but they expect to get all states onboard soon. Iowa has begun voluntary registration already. Congress will be looking at this issue in next year’s budget. Please speak out NOW!
Comment Shelley S — March 16, 2006 @ 5:48 pm
this is getting to be outrages. this is just another why for big brother to get more control over us pretty soon this country is going to be just like the other countries that we have defended in the past and what our ancesters fought against in 1776.George Washington would be turning over in his grave right now if he knew what was going on.It is time to band together and say enough
is enough.Lets stop this together that is the only way if our protest are to be heard
Comment Sheila — March 18, 2006 @ 2:11 pm
This is ridiculous!!!! This is just what man is on it’s way to having done, we’ll have a microchip implanted so they can scan us too. I WILL NOT do that and I think the thought of doing it to animals is wrong. I own a few horses, dog, cats, rabbits and I can’t afford to do this. Why shouldn’t my son get the thrill of experiencing 4-H the way I did….when will the country learn that technology isn’t always good. I think there’s something to be said for the way the world was 45 years ago.
Comment Kelly J. — March 20, 2006 @ 11:49 am
Many of you may not know, but there have been orders associated with FEMA on the books for over 30 years and the President can enact any of them with the stroke of a pen if he deems it necessary. I don’t know what has to be done or how much of a disaster would supposedly call for any of these to be brought into play, however, among them are:
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10999
This one allows the government to take over all food resources and farms.
Perhaps NAIS is just a precursor to this; a way of getting us ready to accept whatever the gov’t wants to take from us. All these executive orders render the Constitution and Bill of Rights powerless. Soon we’ll see them restricting our travel with this REAL ID driver’s license garbage. I consider that reason to give up my license if it comes to pass. Hopefully, Georgia will do as New Hampshire has, but I won’t bet on it.
Comment Cynthia B. — March 20, 2006 @ 1:40 pm
That’s not all! They can take over ALL transportation, all communication systems, enact martial law, suspend the constitution, etc…all with the stroke of a pen.
Comment Elaine — March 20, 2006 @ 10:34 pm
As a citizen of this country, as an independent small producer, as an advocate for personal freedom, I am ADAMANTLY OPPOSED to the NAIS. This is the most destructive, misguided,intrusive and ill-conceived government program I have ever heard about. We are being told it’s necessary to protect our food sources from viruses and terrorist attacks. Baloney! This has nothing to do with food safety or terrorism. It’s about money and power, concentrated in the hands of a few multi-national agribusinesses (e.g., Monsanto, Cargill) and if it does become law it will destroy the very aspect of farming which CAN protect this country from massive outbreaks of disease: the small, local, independent producer. The factory farms with their confinement operations, with thousands of animals of the same age and genetic makeup in close quarters, are the perfect breeding grounds for viruses which can easily move from animal to animal at warp speed.
The record keeping, the financial burden, the mandatory ‘registration’ of such a program will surely result in the loss of this nation’s greatest food asset: the independent small farmer. It’s more than a philosophy or a way of life — it’s the very foundation of this nation and the USDA has, in its zeal to encourage even greater profitability for the Big Guys, has sold us down the river.
“Less government is still too much.”
Comment pamela barrows — March 23, 2006 @ 12:43 pm
What about the amish? they dont believe in that stuff, and they rely on their animals to survive, they can’t possibly afford a chip for every animal.
ali b
Comment Ali B. — April 5, 2006 @ 5:43 pm
There is no exemption for the Amish. There are no exemptions at all. The government does not care if NAIS will kill off traditional farming or violate cultural or religious practices. Remember, NAIS is not about disease, it is about profits. And no, I am not cynical.
Comment walterj — April 5, 2006 @ 6:08 pm
Mo. protest link still not working, Where is the rally
Comment RevolutionJim — April 5, 2006 @ 7:10 pm
I fixed it. Can you test from your location to make sure it is working for you?
If it doesn’t work the first time, try emptying caches and quit your web browser. Then try again. Let me know.
Comment walterj — April 5, 2006 @ 7:25 pm
Where did you guys get your information about animals being put to death as penalty for not being registered? I’m writing a paper on NAIS and I want to be sure I’m representing the small farmer’s viewpoint accurately. Where have you gotten your info on what fees will be charged for registering premises and such? All the APHIS websites just say costs/fees are still being determined.
I certainly hope they come up with some reasonable rules and exemptions for pet owners and small farms. Still, remember that if the big agribiz next door got foot and mouth disease, your small farm could be “depopulated” too unless they got the outbreak under control quickly. It seems like the best thing would be to overcharge the big buisnesses and use that to subsidize and reduce fees for the little guys. What do you think?
[I suspect the person who commented “put to death as penalty for not registering was” using a little hyperbole. The reality is the USDA and state governments will have enforcement. Enforcement means fines and possible confiscation of animal, possible loss of right to own animals. The USDA has not specified what the fines will be. Texas has at up to $1,000 per day per incident per statute law - see this article and follow the links. If you are writing a paper then I would strongly suggest learning to do web research. Google is your friend. -WJ]
Comment vetstudent — April 8, 2006 @ 5:23 pm
I can’t seem to read your editorials - I only get menus. I need to learn about NAIS, please advise how I can get your website to present the articles.
Comment Lola Blevins — April 16, 2006 @ 12:31 pm
Hi Lola,
My guess is you have Windows Internet Explorer 6 for a web browser. That program has a problem with compatiblity with the world wide web CSS/HTML standards. Every once in a while someone posts a long link in comments. That causes Internet Explorer to display the center column of articles below the two sidebars. If this happens scroll down and you’ll find the articles. It is also good to let me know and I’ll fix the link. If people embed the links like this using HTML then this isn’t a problem. Here is how:
which produces a link like this:
LINKTEXT
Just substitute your own link (URL) for the LINK and the text to be clicked by the user for LINKTEXT.
Comment walterj — April 16, 2006 @ 2:14 pm
It is quite discomforting to hear so much trouble from an already troubled nation. From a troubled world. Let’s look at the heart of the problem; america sleeps: the world sleeps. Complacency has crept into our lives, and we must find the courage to fight for our lives. I appreciate all the writers who have heretofore given their comments and they have all had good points. Thank you for your web site and I’ll start fighting with you,
Dan
Comment Daniel E. Rosso — May 1, 2006 @ 10:56 pm
My husband works for a medium sized farmer/rancher, if this is put in effect, and the little guys go out of bizness, we’ll lose everything. Farm jobs will be nonexistent. My husband doesn’t know anything else, same goes for everyone that we know. Imagine how many jobs will be lost. This HAS TO STOP!!!
Comment Helen Dyck — May 18, 2006 @ 5:07 pm
We need NAIS for our security.Eventually, the NAIS will allow animal health officials to identify all animals and premises that have had contact with a foreign or domestic animal disease of concern within 48 hours after discovery. As an information system that provides for rapid tracing of infected and exposed animals during an outbreak situation, the NAIS will help limit the scope of such outbreaks and ensure that they are contained and eradicated as quickly as possible, and that is why I support the National Animal Identification Act.
[Thanks for the note, Kim. It is good to know that you are unconcerned about violating people’s rights and privacy as well as wasting billions of dollars in the process with a complex, ineffectual program like NAIS. I have added you to my Naughty list in the right sidebar. -WJ]
Comment Kim Dismuke — May 21, 2006 @ 10:28 am
there are a few things that are bothering me.
First of all they are just anticipating all the horses people will have to give up because of the expense of this program ……..Cargill will profit big off of our horses because they’ll turn them into horse meat.
Second…..If they register my property for statellite surevellence, how will this affect the value of my property?
Comment irene — June 28, 2006 @ 11:47 am
I’m all against it!I have two horses and they are not going to push me into getting them chipped!
There’s some big plan to take over America behind all this.Did you hear about those two laws that will prevent people from having two weeks supply of food in their house,and plants that produce food in their gardens that come back in the spring.Another fact,Horse Slaughter supports NAIS!!!To learn how people try to fool you into getting your horses chipped go to horsecouncil.org
Comment Susan — July 1, 2006 @ 11:21 am
Susan, where can one find the info on the laws forbidding people having food stored away or growing food producing perennial plants in their garden? Is there no end to the regulatory atrocities? How low will they go??
Comment FarmerSid — July 1, 2006 @ 1:12 pm
i was browsing another monstrocity of the Patriot Act, and its’ called Codex. I don’t know how many of you out there know how important your nutrition is but, if they programs like NAIS through, you will become a pharmacuetical guinea pig, please visit
link
Pharma wants to make sure we get sick and stay sick.
They have your animals tagged , they are now the governments guinea pig, they can force experimental drugs and vaccines, and you have no say or legal recourse. Eventually the government and big pharma will choose or more realistically force unwanted medical procedures on you.
There are some bad things and they need programs like NAIS to implement them.
Comment irene — July 2, 2006 @ 8:00 pm
I have no animals, not even pets yet I am deeply and completely offended by this N.A.I.S. program that will hurt the farmers. Without farmers we have no scenic rolling pastures and hay fields, no cows grazing in the distance. This destroys people’s rights and privacy yet it also does something I see no mention of. It destroys our property values and the beauty of our country side. Even those of us living in the city love to drive out to the country where we can see the beauty of nature and traditional agriculture. If NAIS is put through, if the government further destroys small farmers, then we lose that. For this reason too I will write my representatives.
Tom
Comment Tom Dillson — August 22, 2006 @ 7:00 am
I just read Kim’s message. Do you believe EVERYTHING the nice man from the government tells you?
Mary Zanoni said it best when she stated, “there are some things worse than disease.”
Comment Barbara — August 22, 2006 @ 10:34 am
How is this going to affect our household pets, such as our dogs and cats?
Thank you for your site and input on this!
heatherjoy
[Generally NAIS does not now affect animals other than those listed in the Draft Strategic Plan. However several states have indicated they want control over pets too. I fully expect pets to eventually be covered. -WJ]
Comment heatherjoy — October 18, 2006 @ 8:09 pm
Heatherjoy
I might add that in additon to some states such as Pa. which stated in SB 865 that the department could add any animal it so chose to, that there is also a program introduced by Ricky Santorum of PA called “PAWS” this program supposedly aimed to stop puppy mills but that was just the cover story, it “basicly” required all pets to have chips and registration for tracking and for the govt and cronies like some of the so called animal rights groups to know what breeds were out there, and where they are, Rick has no idea how badly this idea of his will effect folks and their pets or his re-election. We shall have to watch to see the answers to those questions.
Comment LEE — October 18, 2006 @ 8:44 pm
I finally read the September, 2006 issue of Western Cowman this evening. At the end of the article there is a box with your web site on it. I read the material on your site and agree with most all of the information there.
Back in 2000 we anticipated the hash that the USDA and the state would make of what became the NAIS. My business partner, Lloyd Goode, and I spent the period between 1985 and 2000 developing and operating very complicated databases tracking cars in transit around the world for Honda, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai. Before the USDA starting passing money around to the states and tribes, we took on the project of developing an accountability/identification system that would allow the producer to develop the premises location, performance, and transportation records and transmit files to the next owner of the livestock, all while bypassing the USDA anointed databases, or submitting only the minimum data to the USDA. My interest in the subject was prompted by my role in running the 1,200 mother cow/calf operation at the Whitehorse Ranch near Fields, Oregon.
We think that one approach may be for the livestock owner to maintain records of moves and not report this to anyone until they sell the animal. At that time the relinquishing owner could transmit or send a file to the new owner, who would then have continue to build the file. If the current owner had this information, would the failure to report moves to one of the local or the the meta database ever trigger any sanction? We do not think so.
It may be beneficial to a livestock owner to get an animal identification number (AIN). If the owner gets an AIN for particular livestock, there is no specific reason why that AIN has to physically be on the animal. It should be possible to continue to use ear tags on cattle, or identify horses with pictures, registration with a breed organization, or some other method that does not include micro chips. if what is required is the records, not the actual event reporting to the meta-database, it should not be incumbent on the livestock owner to invest in new identification techniques. They should be able to use whatever method works for them within their program. When the livestock is sold to the next party the new owner can use whatever method they want to recognize the animals, providing that the record that ties the animal back to its AIN is available. That file can transfer from owner to owner without reporting to a third party.
We have a runtime database that can be down loaded from our web site for free. It will always be free and it is available for anyone to use for any purpose whatsoever.
We are working to get qualified with the USDA so that we could distribute AINs. If we are successful, livestock owners will not have to purchase special ear tags, RFID buttons or any other special equipment.
if you are interested in down loading the runtime it is available at livestock-track.com. No other software, other than the Windows operating system is required on the computer.
if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Very truly yours,
David Herman
livestock-track.com
david-herman@comcast.net
503.819.3686
Comment David Herman — November 8, 2006 @ 4:50 am
David,
While you seem to be trying to establish a tracking system that is less onerous than what the USDA proposes, it still does not appeal to any of us that feel the entire concept is unnecessary and unConstitutional. Your system might be useful for some businesses, but it is meaningless(as is NAIS)for many of us caught up in the USDA’s web of overregulation.
If I own a horse for 20 years, am I supposed to keep a record of everywhere I’ve been for 20 yrs in case it becomes necessary to sell? Even the IRS doesn’t demand record keeping like that, and what would be the purpose?
Comment Barbara — November 8, 2006 @ 4:30 pm
Correct Barbara, and it also wouldn’t eliminate premise ID, which is the real issue, in my opinion. Big Government could find us in 15 minutes, without a premise ID, so why another number? (Red flag) Could it be that as previously corroborated, European countries have been given contracts to spy on us, and they would need GPS coordinates to turn us in for violations?
Comment Texas Goat Gal — November 9, 2006 @ 7:34 am
David, #36
Agreeing to a “lesser evil” is still agreeing to an evil.
Our rights are supposed to be inalienable. Any database could be used as the seed of a voluntary / mandatory program. Sort of like “if you’ve got nothing to hide what are you afraid of?” Well I’m afraid of having my rights TAKEN from me, guess that makes me paranoid or a patriot depending on point of view.
The relevant questions/ concerns are in any program
1) Who benefits (or profits $$$) from a voluntary / mandatory program?
2) What rights do WE the People lose or jeopardize??
3) Name the last time big government and big business “solved” a problem
that really benefitted Americans…thought so, you can’t.
4) Nothing is “free” not any government program and I suspect any database, yours or others…
I am very doubtful there is any problem that needs solving
and if there is, government in partnership with big business isn’t going to solve it…their aim is to make money and steal our rights! Terms like “the National Herd”
sound a little too much like something Chairman Mao would use…I won’t be volunteering for jack! We don’t need NAIS or “NAIS lite”…just my opinion.
Comment Bob Constantine — November 9, 2006 @ 9:25 am
To follow this down a logical path, the organism that most readily spreads desease in humans is us. We should all be microchipped, right? We have meant the enemy and them is us.
Comment Bill Corley — November 18, 2006 @ 9:00 pm
Two articles which point to how NAIS won’t work to control anything, but make things worse. . .much worse.
Firstly, the new passports in the UK, which contain RFID, can be scanned from a distance, and cloned. So much for the “miracle” of chipping and data security. If they cannot make passports safe, how or why will they bother to make data for livestock safe from tampering?
Secondly, to the Avian Flu which hasn’t happened like they modeled. . .yet. Tamilflu, the wonder drug, supposed to protect us all, the drug they will force everyone to take, once they have tracked us all down and scoured the NAIS databases to find anyone who’s even looked at a chicken. . .Tamilflu is causing severe psychological problems and death in an number of people.
No thanks.
Comment Podchef — November 19, 2006 @ 10:34 am
I wonder if there is any value in a NAIS law for large “farms” who buy, breed, raise and sell livestock in bulk (leaving the homesteaders, 4H’ers, private farms, etc out of it). I wish there was more control over the meat and produce entering the grocery stores. There are a lot of people who have not got enough money to buy “free range” or “organic” foods or even any awareness of a need for these items. If the government is worried about the health of it’s citizens then it should be controlling the quality of produce and meats being sold to the public. Food contaminated with bacteria, antibiotics, pesticides, growth hormones, etc. should just not be sold to any one. I think it is pretty insane to warn people about handling raw meat and eggs and then not go after the problem of the contamination with bacteria. And what about the produce! All of the problems caused by spinach came from bacteria from the field it was grown in. Couldn’t that happen to any produce? Why isn’t there a process for cleaning the produce before it is put up for sale in the grocery store? What are the people eating when they pick up an apple and take a bite? I ate some grapes one time which were given to me by a friend, the inside of my mouth began to have a mild burning/tingling sensation. I found out that the grapes had been bought in a common grocery store and my friend had not washed them off. I hate to think what must have been on those grapes! So much for “healthy fruit”!
Comment Kristi — December 31, 2006 @ 10:32 pm
kristi,there is a law in place.it is called MCOOL(mandatory country of orgin labeling).the feds wont put it in use. check out R-CALF they are on walters nice list
Comment nick lecompte — January 2, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
Do you have plants on your property? No Animals. Guess what? You will be included in the NAIS program!!!
Read on, from the great State of Pennsylvania. NAIS under the auspices of the USDA/FAO (UN) preparing to track every life form. Get involved in NoNAIS legislation in your state TODAY!
https://farminfo.psu.edu/
Is PAFarms Just For Animals?
“No, PAFarms is not just for animal farms. Similar to PDA’s need to notify animal producers in the event of a disease outbreak in their area, PDA also needs the capability to notify non-animal farm owners of plant pathogens that may impact their area. Whether it is plum pox or some other emerging disease of commercial plants or crops, knowing what to look for, and who to notify becomes critical information. Additionally, in the event of a chemical spill or wind-borne pollutant event that can impact the safety of crops grown within an impacted area, identifying and notifying farm owners becomes a critical activity for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. From time to time waterways may experience a chemical spill incident that can impact farms many miles downstream. If PDA has the capability to rapidly identify and notify these landowners of the event, then the damage can be minimized and the agent can be contained before it enters the human or animal food supply via crops.”
Comment Celeste — January 26, 2007 @ 10:38 am
Celeste and anybody else in PA,
Ron Miller of PDA will be speaking at the PA Horse World Expo on Thursday Febuary 22nd at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.
We are trying to get people to meet and go to the meeting. he is also slated to be at the PA Horse Council booth during the weekend. I am familiar with the Event Coordinator and will be contacting her just to be sure that it is ok for us to pass out Anti-NAIS literature. I also have some people I know on the Horse Council and have been in contact with them. We need as many people there as possible, not just horse people. I have posted this on the PA No NAIS site also.
Any and all help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve
Comment Steve Orr — January 26, 2007 @ 11:49 am
Well Walter I guess the net didnt like that post,I tried it again(3 times) after I sent you the note and it still wouldn’t take it,so I will try a different one.What Celeste posted under “will nais affect me” is a serious thing,we thought we had gotten rid of this thing,were basicly told by PDA officials it was all in our heads,this after they erased the site back in nov,on nov 23 I posted to Pa aginst NAIS the text of the page because I had saved it and they(PDA) were basicly trying to feed us a line about it not existing ,this latest posting at Pa Farms is the same animal,folks this includes plants in premise Id. I know I commented on this last nov and I think Walter posted something about it,this plan will include everyone who has any living thing on their property,and if Pa gets this disease alot of other states will catch it ,it will effect way more than just animal id so keep your eyes and ears open to what your states are up to,we will of course fight this here but were dealing with baldfaced liars in this state so its hard to know what is going on,I just thought I’d remind y’all this was here once before and the state is recycling its junk.thanks
[This one came through fine as did your other 123 test. Not sure what the problem was. Glad it is working now. Cheers, -WJ]
Comment LEE — January 27, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
ya know what is sad….I tried to tell my strasser trimmer
Comment irene — April 19, 2007 @ 11:33 am
I’d like to make a statement about the recent bee colony demise. I feel it’s relative because all farmers should be concerned and aware of things like NAIS and big-agri.
My take on this is…
gmo crops have been known to seriously affect butterflies and other organisms with disease and death,
would it be beyond the perverted intention of bio-tech and agri-biz to kill our populations of bees to protect thier investments….
I mean if we don’t have our pollinators than we would be forced to buy thier seed, especially thier favorite pet project…the terminator seed.
I would almost bet my hunch is right and this blame falls directly on the bio-tech/agri-biz.
without our bees they could undeniably gain nearly incomprehesible power over our crops.
maybe just another program they have in mind to corner the market
these people have to be stopped, i don’t know how, but our planet cannot survive these big greedy corrupt agri-biz and these horrid things they do to nature and food. It’s amazing but in reality business like this should be shut down and illegal. Biotech and big ag are bad for everything.
while your at it check out www.healthfreedomusa.org
Small (organic) farmers are the heart and soul of humanity
Comment irene — April 24, 2007 @ 9:14 am
A friend told me that during the depression people were required to register their animals because in case of food shortages the government would know where to go to quickly confiscate them. Maybe the microchips are a way of finding food without having to tell people that they can find them for that, because although they know where all the large producers are, they also know that there are a lot more edible animals out there in backyard flocks. In the depression people hid their animals, killed their roosters so that the crowing couldn’t be heard… but you can’t hide them from GPS. Maybe they are anticipating a food crisis but are hoping not to alert or alarm the general public?
[Aye, this is a rational worry. The government takes and maybe apologizes later for all it’s mistakes, maybe not. With most of the population now living in the cities we are faced with a majority that want to make rules that will confiscate for their needs the food from the producers and homesteaders who are a tiny minority. As a side note, GPS is only one-way, they’re just logging the coordinates of the premises, in the current version. There are ways to actually track via satellite, cellphone and RFID clouds but that is not in the current USDA NAIS plan… -WJ]
Comment Laurie — May 25, 2007 @ 6:48 am
Laurie, you sound very genuine, but unfortunately, there is a ton of documentation out there that contradicts thinking that they just want to do us a favor. Most folks wrongly presume that the world planners want 6B+ people alive in the world, and that our own leaders/bureaucrats want 300M of us alive in this country. That is a huge mistake that I believe people have probably been making throughout history - until it is too late. Unfortunate, shameful, despicable, but true. Our elected leaders/bureaucrats want POWER and $$$ and CONTROL, as evidenced by the fact that they open their wallets and purses to vote the way of Big Business, instead of reading the Constitution. Thanks for your comment. I am just steamed about the news of this Farm Bill, and how Washington, DC and our states ignore us when we have Constitutional legs to stand on.
Comment Texas Goat Gal — May 25, 2007 @ 9:50 am
This is so ridiculous-sounding as to be laughable. Are our politicians really that stupid? I mean, in assuming that people will comply?
This just encourages me to hurry up my bomb-proofing work until I can get our horse gun-broke. Then I can ride my horse down the road and shoot anyone who tries to tell me that I have to tag her or file a paper to go on a ride off my property.
I’ll radio chip my cat and horse when I radio-chip myself. Never.
My husband and I have had very general conversations about getting a piece of property and having it to where we could be entirely self-sufficent on it. While we’ve talked about natural disasters or terrorist attacks maybe making that a necessity, I guess we also need to plan on fortifing ourselves for when the government comes to take our guns and animals.
Comment Keri — November 8, 2007 @ 1:00 pm
Okay, North Carolina has really made a backhanded move under the auspices of ‘caring for the farmers’ during this drought. We have been watching the North Carolina Agriculture (www.ncagr.com)website to find out when the emergency hay was to be delivered to the state to help offset the hay shortage due to the drought. We fully expected to pay premium price for this hay, but now they are saying we cannot buy it without an NAIS Farm Premesis ID.
I believe that this had NOTHING to do with providing emergency hay and EVERYTHING to do with forcing our hands to sign up for this oppressive program (which is supposed to be voluntary?). No one even bothered to let us know about this requirement until they hay was delivered and everyone was in a scramble to buy. I find this kind of coercion incomprehensible. This is not what ‘voluntary’ means in a free/equal society - voluntary assumes no coercion by means that would require the common man to relent due to uncommon pressure.
I am furious. What is interesting is that I was not an vociferous opponent of NAIS in the past. That is no longer the case.
Comment H Sutton — January 4, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
As a consumer I am very concerned about how NAIS will drive up food prices and take away my buying choices. I want to support my neighbors who farm. I don’t want to support feedlots or big factory producers in distant places and especially not outside our country. The government needs to listen to the people. WE own this country, not them. They are just our CIVEL Servants and as such they should obey and serve us.
Comment Megan — June 18, 2008 @ 2:45 am
I have just learned of the NAIS. I believe it is the craziest thing I have ever heard. I don’t want to let the government know when I eat a chicken I raised myself or if I gave one away. If you think about it, it is just like the Bible says, there will be a Mark of the Beast. The Mark is the microchip and the Beast is the government. If they can regulate what you can have on your homestead farm, they can regulate what you eat. In other words, they can take your right away so you will have to go to the store and buy the meat to eat and can’t grow it yourself. Also, when they raise the prices of meat so high, they will take your right to plant a garden away also. People should not let this happen, the government controls enough, they shouldn’t be able to tell you what to eat or grow yourself. They know the homesteaders are the people in this country that will make it before anyone else will because they can grow their own food and take care of their families. Tell your friends and neighbors. Call your congressman and sentators and write your newspapers. JUST SAY NO.
Comment Selina — April 14, 2009 @ 8:51 pm