Attention PA, WA, TX, AL, KY, CT, CO Residents

The following was sent in an email.


USDA Announces Locations for Listening Sessions on NAIS

The USDA is holding seven listening sessions about the National Animal
Identification System (NAIS). The NAIS would impose severe hardships on
small farmers, and impact anyone who owns even one livestock or poultry
animal, even those raising animals for their own food or as pets. While
benefiting Big Ag's export market, NAIS could cripple small farmers
providing grass-fed meats, eggs, and dairy to local consumers.

Key Congressional leaders have called for a mandatory NAIS, and
Secretary Vilsack has indicated that he plans to push forward with some
sort of program soon. It's going to take a lot of people speaking up
loud and clear to keep a mandatory NAIS from being imposed on every
livestock owner in America! These listening sessions are a critical
opportunity to get media attention on NAIS and demonstrate the level of
opposition to the program.

Please go to these meetings! You can have an impact simply by being
there and showing that a lot of people are opposed to NAIS!


TAKE ACTION #1 - Go to the Meetings!
Start making your plans NOW to go to the listening session
nearest you, and spread the word!


May 14 - Harrisburg, PA
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center
2300 N. Cameron St.
Map this Location


May 18 - Pasco, WA
Trac Center
6600 Burden Blvd.
Map this Location


May 20 - Austin, TX
Embassy Suites Hotel Austin Central
5901 N. IH-35
Map this Location


May 21- Birmingham, AL
Cahaba Grand Convention Center
3660 Grandview Parkway
Map this Location


May 22 - Louisville, KY
Crowne Plaza
Louisville Airport
830 Phillips Lane
Map this Location


May 27 - Storrs, CT
University of Connecticut, Storrs Campus
Bishop Center
One Bishop Circle
Map this Location


June 1 - Greeley, CO
TBD
We will let you know as soon as this information is available.

The meetings will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

* If you want to speak, plan a short statement (3-5 minutes). We
will send sample talking points in our next alert.
* You can also bring written comments. It's best to bring two
copies one to hand to USDA staff and one to keep so that you
have a record of what you submitted.
* The USDA coordinator has stated that the afternoon will consist
of facilitated sessions, where the attendees will be divided
into groups to develop solutions. Be prepared to politely
disagree with the facilitator. If they claim that a consensus
has been reached with an answer that you don't agree with, say
so!

REGISTRATION

If you want to speak in the morning or participate in the afternoon
sessions, you must register.

Pre-registration:

* Send an email to NAISSessions@aphis.usda.gov In the subject line
of the e-mail, indicate your name (or organization name) and the
location of the meeting you plan to attend. If you wish to
present public comments during one of the meetings, please
include your name (or organization name) and address in the body
of the message.
* Call 301-734-0799 to register by phone.

On-site registration: From 8 am - 9 am on the day of the meeting.

You can also check the USDA's website for more information.


TAKE ACTION #2 - Submit Written Comments
You can submit your comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal

Although the USDA did not specify a deadline in its notice, a USDA
official has stated that the deadline is Monday, June 1.

We will provide sample comments in our next alert. If you want to
comment before then, you can get ideas from the sample comments posted
here.


USDA's Statement
In the Federal Register notice announcing the meetings, USDA
specifically asked for input on the topics listed below. These questions
will most likely form the basis for the facilitated sessions in the
afternoon of each listening session. Do not feel limited by these
questions in preparing your oral or written comments!

Cost. What are your concerns about the cost of the NAIS? What steps
would you suggest APHIS use to address cost?

Impact on small farmers. What are your concerns about the effect of the
NAIS on small farmers? What approaches would you suggest APHIS take to
address the potential impact on small farmers?

Privacy and confidentiality. What are your concerns regarding how the
NAIS will affect your operation's privacy and/or the confidentiality of
your operation? What steps or tactics would you suggest APHIS use to
address privacy and confidentiality issues?

Liability. What are your concerns about your operation's liability under the NAIS? What would you suggest APHIS consider to address liability
concerns?

Premises registration. Do you have any suggestions on how to make
premises registration, or the identification of farm or ranch locations,
easier for stakeholders? How should we address your concerns regarding
premises registration?

Animal identification. Do you have any suggestions on how to make animal
identification practical and useful to stakeholders while simultaneously
meeting the needs of animal health officials who must conduct disease
tracebacks?

Animal tracing. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the animal
tracing component practical, in particular the reporting of animal
movements to other premises, while meeting the needs of animal health
officials who must conduct disease tracebacks?

The USDA Federal Register notice is posted here.

USDA contact for more information: Dr. Adam Grow, Director, Surveillance
and Identification Programs, National Center for Animal Health Programs,VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737; 301-734-3752.



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