According to this discussion when a veterinarian visits your farm in New Hampshire they are recording your farm’s GPS coordinations and other information which is then submitted to the state for the precursor to the USDA’s proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
This makes NH the sixth state I know of to be working on involuntary “voluntary” Premises ID. Is this going on in your state? Beware of animal officers, veterinarians, government related poll takers, surveys, registration forms at events and other ways that they may be gathering your information to “volunteer” your premises registration without your permission. Legally they are not allowed to enter your property without permission. Gate your driveway. Fence you borders. You do those things anyways for animals. Put up prominant No Tresspassing signs. Betty in California uses this for hers.
If you discover that you have been “volunteered”, contact your state agency and the USDA to protest it and demand that you be removed from their lists and unregistered. If you are subject to false registration in any state please email me with details and send any documentation you can.
NH maybe joining MA, VT, ID, WA, TX and USDA cases of the government falsifying voluntary signup.
WI is the only state where premises registration is mandatory.
Hat tip to Kim, Betty
Two days ago, we received the “2006 Agricultural Identification Survey” from the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the USDA. In ten years of owning this place, we have never received this survey before. The interesting thing is, it is addressed to our ranch name, then our name, and the only place where our ranch name is published is our checkbook, our business card, the auction facility we use, and the two boer goat associations we are members of. We have never listed our ranch name with the county. Some of the numbers on this form are:
AIS-01 (5-16-06)
OMB Number 0535-0140
Approval Expires 04-30-2009
It is four pages of questions relating to acres operated, cropland, grain storage, livestock and poultry, aquaculture, labor and sales, operator, change of operator, and possible duplication. The due date to return the form is June 27, 2006. You can be sure I will diligently fill this out and return it ASAP. Has anyone else received this, possibly for the first time, like us. Hmmm.
Comment Texas Goat Gal — June 9, 2006 @ 10:54 am
I received one of those forms today. I am not filling it out. Probably will put some No NAIS literature in it and send it back to them. Sneaky little devils aren’t they?
Comment Susan Mead — June 9, 2006 @ 1:43 pm
Got mine months ago and kept tossing it in the trash, then one day, got a call from them on MY CELL PHONE! There was only 2 places on the internet for my cell phone. My web page and the goat association listing on the internet. They can find you, they are being very “creative” almost like a witch hunt.
Comment Goatster — June 9, 2006 @ 1:48 pm
A lot of people have reported to me that they have received that survey. Most say they don’t intend to do anything with it. In the past I was inclined to help the government by filling out this sort of thing. I believed in the good of our government. NAIS and the other things I have uncovered in the fight against it have made me very cynical about anything from the government. They need to learn the lesson about leaving sleeping dogs alone.
Comment walterj — June 9, 2006 @ 2:13 pm
I noticed a couple of you folks who got “contacted” mentioned goat associations,under the naughty list you may have noticed the american dairy goat association,I’m not sure about other goat organizations but I understand ADGA is helping the NAIS gather info,it stands to reason that other groups may be helping them too,as I’ve stated before I’ve had several folks call me and say they are burning their reg. papers and dropping ADGA,you may want to look into it and see if your group sold you out ,so to speak,if you find any group you belong to supports NAIS I would suggest trying to imform them to change and if they won’t you may want to consider dropping them,no sense in funding the enemy.I got rid of mine and wrote them a letter to let them know the reason,just a thought.
Comment LEE — June 9, 2006 @ 7:37 pm
Geeez…I hate to be the damper..
There are consequences for not filling those (errrr.)forms out. Really evaluate the costs before action.
OMB ESTIMATE: P.L. 106-279 allows the State Department to collect fees to cover its costs of administering the Act. The fees will be deposited in State Department accounts but cannot be spent without appropriations action. OMB estimates that the State Department will collect $5 million in fees annually. The Act also establishes new federal crimes relating to the provision of international adoption services. Violators of these crimes will be subject to criminal and civil penalties, including fines. OMB expects these fines to have an insignificant effect on federal receipts.
Comment Celeste — June 9, 2006 @ 10:21 pm
Don’t forget your handy-dandy Public Servant Questionaire (in the tech doc section)ready to go when these folks come a knocking. Be *creative*. They are. I will be voluntarily and *creatively* administering these public servants questionaires myself, with great delight. I have a plan
We will be speaking with the Weston Price folks on Tuesday night and I was speaking with the lady who runs the organization who mentioned up north of us they are asking folks if they can put some sort of GPS device on their place. BEWARE!
Comment Celeste — June 9, 2006 @ 10:34 pm
I blew it:
Hi Sid,
The report was very superficial and misleading. Introduced as something the government wants to do to protect us from mad cow disease, we are steered toward believing it is a good thing. Then they show the cow man who is clueless, but compliant. You are shown to be emotional (so not rational, of course) and the quote of yours they ran made you seem like a rebel and really wasn’t helpful. It was not as awful as you thought, but certainly they could have given you a better spot. I still say shame on them.
I forget since I never watch it how worthless tv news really is. How can they begin to present something in thirty seconds that will have any substance….even if they were to do a decent job of it? That anchorman always looks like he is on the verge of being drunk to me and totally goofy. Sheesh.
I hope you woke up this morning feeling better. You took a huge risk and got burned and not many people would have even cared enough to stick their neck out. I am proud of you, but most of all I love you dearly and hate to see you hurting. I’m glad you called last night. This shit is no fun. Hope the rodeo is fun.
Lots of hugs,
Dell
Comment sid sargent — June 10, 2006 @ 9:35 am
I sent a formal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to USDA for all instances where my name or home is recorded in USDA databases. By law, they must respond. So far, the FOIA office officially aknowledged my request, and said they were searching the databases and would respond in accordance with the law. I figure, if enough of us do the same thing, they won’t have time to mess with NAIS. Oh, and if it turns out they have me in an NAIS database, then I will demand to be deleted from their voluntary database.
Tom A
Comment Bkeepr — June 10, 2006 @ 1:56 pm
Two years ago we received a USDA Agricultural Census. It had listings for every type of regular farm animal, exotics, fish, poultry, and I think even dogs.
They wanted breed, breeding stock, numbers, registry, intended use, on and on. A $100 fine was to be imposed if the form was not completed and returned.
We didn’t fill it out. A couple of months after the deadline another, identical census was sent. We ignored that one, too.
We began getting messages on our voice mail from someone at North Dakota State University saying we needed to send in the census immediately.
Finally, I talked with woman who sounded very authoritarian. She wanted to know, “Do I need to send a team over there to get that census?”
My husband then got on line with her and informed her that since we are registered with no farm programs and receive no subsidies for our operation, it wasn’t necessary for us to participate in a USDA survey.
We still receive our annual “MUST REPORT all acreage uses to USDA” appointment each June. We tell them every year, “We don’t receive money from the USDA so…we really aren’t obliged to report anything at all about what we do on our acreage.”
No doubt our premise is already GPS registered as ‘trouble makers’. It doesn’t take much to become visible to those who can’t seem to figure out how to work for a living and are burdened with way too much time on their hands .
Comment Donna — June 10, 2006 @ 2:45 pm
If they are mailing the questionaire to people, then they can’t expect to actually get them back. The only way to back them up is with a phone call or visit.
I would think that the form–I haven’t recieved one yet (what is it about the goaty people that have been so harrassed?)–needs to state that there is a penalty for not filling it out, if there is some such penalty. If it does state that, then it’s time to lawyer up.
If not, then send them back those NONAIS flyers–great idea! When they get back to you, read THEM the riot act, start asking them the questions.
Walter is right, the USDA needs to let sleeping dogs lay on this one–once woken we’ll be a mighty ferocious pack.
Comment Podchef — June 11, 2006 @ 9:12 am
Sid,I’m not sure what happened but I take it that you did a TV spot and they screwed you over,correct? Well if thats the case just hold your head up and move forward,I’ve done a few radio spots and it can be a bit intimidating,but we’re dealing with people who for the most part live life in 30 sec. spots ,like was said above ,most folks won’t even try to do that so pat yourself on the back and keep going,we all need you and everyone else out there that is doing what they can,together each small action becomes a tidalwave against this NAIS,we are beginning to be heard,but it takes time,have a great day!
Comment LEE — June 11, 2006 @ 8:51 pm
Pet goats, brush clearing goats, goats just hanging around?
CHAPTER 15
HB 1283 – FINAL VERSION
2006 SESSION
06-2152
10/01
HOUSE BILL 1283
AN ACT relative to sheep and goat identification requirements.
Approved: March 23, 2006
Effective: May 22, 2006
link
NH Dept. of AG is still not publishing any NAIS meetings but apparently is working very hard towards it.
Comment Sue F — June 12, 2006 @ 2:57 am
We live in a subdivision on less than an acre, but have turned the entire backyard in to a vegetable and fruit garden. We sold some extras at a few farmer’s markets. We received a survey with my maiden name (been married 6 years)under the name we used for our market booth on the farmer’s market website and on Local Harvest! The only way I can think of them connecting my maiden name is on the electric bill. Last year, when we had our tomato seedlings under shop lights in the garage, we actually had almost daily fly-overs. All the neighbors noticed it so it wasn’t just us being paranoid.
Comment Backyard Gardener — June 13, 2006 @ 11:28 am
Backyard,
I’ve had the FBI knock on my door asking questions.
Since I’ve had a small red helicopter pass over on a daily basis. Nobody I know at the local little airport has one. Coming out of the west. Wrong direction for the close local airports anyway.
Sometimes I get the distinct feeling I’m being watched. The resident fox pair doesn’t raise the hair on the back of my neck. Anyway I kind feel sorry for whoever has this surveilence detail. Going to be pretty bored. I can see his notes now…
Changed the duck pool water
Dumped some manure on a pile out back
Weeded around the onions
weeded around the tomatos
raked a bit of dirt over the potatos
trimmed a few hooves
raked out the chicken pen
hung some laundry on the line
and it repeats over and over and over
Hope he/she has lots of bug spray. Skeeters are thick this year.
Comment Sue F — June 17, 2006 @ 4:38 am