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<H2><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>This was in the "Dairy
Today" email newsletter. I thought you guys would be interested. Neal
Grose</FONT></H2>
<H2>Could COOL drive National Animal ID?</H2>
<H3>7/21/2008</H3><BR><BR>
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<TD><IMG alt="" src="http://www.agweb.com/images/pubs/Jim_Dickrell.gif"
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<TD><SPAN class=style1><A href="mailto:jdickrell@farmjournal.com">Jim
Dickrell</A><BR><BR></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P>In an ironic twist, the 2008 Farm Bill’s Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
requirements could speed the implementation of national animal
identification.</P>
<P>Why ironic? Many of the very people who favor COOL are also the same people
who oppose, almost to the point of violence, a national animal identification
system.<BR><BR>I’ve never been a fan of COOL. On my top 10 list of priorities in
assuring consumers that the food they buy is safe, I’d rank it about
#20.<BR><BR>Nevertheless, Congress included COOL in the Farm Bill it passed
earlier this summer. USDA’s goal is to publish a interim final rule on COOL by
July 30, with an effective date of September 30.</P>
<P>Keep in mind that the Farm Bill prevents USDA from using COOL as a pretense
to implement a national mandatory animal ID program. But even if it’s not
mandatory, a national ID program is the next logical step.<BR> <BR>What
simpler way to identify cattle than with an electronic RFID button tag that’s
linked to a registered U.S. premise? <BR><BR>If anything, market forces
will drive the need for a simple, cheap identification system, say both the
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Milk Producers
Federation (NMPF)<BR> <BR>“Anything new like this will be market-force
driven,” says Colin Woodall, NCBA’s executive director of legislative affairs.
Food retailers will be required to verify country of origin of the meat products
they sell, and they’ll pass that requirement on to their suppliers who will pass
it down the chain all the way to the farm. <BR> <BR>“The market place
is going to drive the treatment of animals, including identification,” agrees
Chris Galen, NMPF VP of communications. “We’ve always advocated animal ID, not
for marketing purposes or for COOL, but to protect our
infrastructure.”<BR> <BR>Note: More than 42,000 of commercial dairy and
heifer operations, some 70%, now have their premises registered for national
ID. <BR> <BR>Imported Canadian cattle, which have been coming across
the border since late November of last year, are already required to carry
official Canadian brands or individual ID, including their Canadian ear tag and
records to prove premise of origin. <BR> <BR>As of last week (July
15), retailers will have to verify they have the records to prove Canadian
cattle origins. For more on the identification requirements of Canadian dairy
cattle imports, <A
href="http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/downloads/pro_imp_cattle-bison_can.pdf">click
here</A>. These rules were set last year, prior to the border opening November
19.<BR> <BR>I’m no trade law expert. But it seems to me the Canadians could
get a little uppity if U.S. domestic requirements for cattle ID to meet
marketing requirements are less stringent than those for imported cattle. (Can
you smell a World Trade Organization challenge coming?)</P>
<P>So COOL could be a blessing in disguise. If it speeds the adoption of
comprehensive (if not mandatory) national ID, it might well be worth all the
other hassle of meeting COOL requirements from the farm to the meat
case. <BR> <BR>COOL nor national animal ID will prevent a major
disease outbreak in this country. But national ID could certainly help contain
the outbreak should it occur. <BR> <BR>Containment is essential. One
estimate, offered by Tom McKenna with the Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratory,
suggests a foot and mouth disease outbreak could cost the U.S. livestock
industry $27 billion dollars. That’s roughly three-quarters of the farm-gate
value of all the milk produced in this country last
year. <BR> <BR>Anything that could limit such a disaster, even COOL,
is worth it.</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>