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To Register or Not To Register - That is the QuestionNews ItemMeg Wilson, Director of Community Relations, Colorado State University Extension
Not too long ago, mid-April 2007, in a land not too far away, Wisconsin, an old enemy once banished from the state reappeared in swine on two Clark County farms – pseudorabies. One was a small commercial herd and the other a hobby farm, on unregistered premises surrounded by other small herds, most of them also on unregistered premises.
Within hours 31 farms which were listed on the premises registration list and were within five miles of the infected herds were visited by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture for testing. Next the Wisconsin Agriculture Department had to drive up and down the roads of Clark County checking all the premises that weren't on the list to see if they had swine. It took four days to find the other 31 herds that needed to be tested for pseudorabies. While the department accomplished the additional testing, the owners of the registered premises waited for non-registered premises animals to be tested so they could get out from under quarantine. And they wondered why they were losing money when they'd done the right thing. Had this been a cattle disease during an active time of year, movement may have been inevitable creating a much greater economic delay and risk.
Disease has no preferences. It doesn't recognize religion or see the difference between a big commercial operation, a small commercial herd, a show animal at state fair, a hobby farm, and an off-the-grid subsistence farm. It can hitch a ride from a slaughter plant, a fairgrounds, or your neighbor's farm on your boots or your truck tires. And even if you don't buy and sell animals, you can track that disease to and from your farm.
That's why it’s worth it to be able to find you right away in case of animal disease outbreak. Yes, you're in the phone book. Yes, you're licensed with the state in some cases. Yes, you have a fire number. But for the sake of speed, there needs to be one list with consistent numbers that can be entered in a computer database that's also linked to mapping software.
In early 2006, Brett Kaysen, Extension Youth Livestock Specialist for Colorado State University, was encouraged by various allied and commodity groups to have 4-H and Extension support and adopt a premises registration policy for the 4-H program. In 2006, the Extension Animal ID working group at Colorado State University, with the involvement of Jack Whittier (Professor, Extension Beef Specialist, CSU Animal Science) worked to develop educational efforts around this issue. In September 2006, the 4-H Livestock Task Force with broad representation recommended to the Colorado State 4-H Director a policy to encourage premises registration for the 2006-07 4-H year and require registration for the 2007-08 4-H year. The CSU Extension Director, Dr. Marc Johnson, and the State 4-H Director, Dr. Jeff Goodwin, agreed. The State FFA Advisor Kenton Ochsner concurred after the idea was proposed to a large group of Ag teachers in the state and received broad support.
“Animal diseases are under control.” “We are doing just fine with the systems we have in place.” “There is absolutely no need for this government imposed tracking system.” These are the voices of a small, highly vocal, seriously independent group of Coloradoans opposed to premises registration.
Animal disease outbreaks around the world over the past decade have underscored the importance of animal identification and the need to track animals’ location history and heard mate contacts. Post 9/11/2001, the potential of a food related or animal induced terror attack only heightens the concern. Agricultural geographic clustering, high density husbandry, rapid increases in the movement of animals, limited immunity to foreign animal diseases, and centralized feed supply and distribution all contribute to greater vulnerability today than yesterday.
The economic impact and risks to animal agriculture understated. In 2003, there were approximately 95 million cattle and 60 million pigs with a value of $70.5 billion and $4.5 billion respectively. Exports of animal products exceeded $12 billion in 2003 and decreased by over $1 billion annually in beef alone for 2 ½ years during the Japanese ban on American beef from 2004 through mid-2006. The US agricultural industry recognizes the importance of premises registration with over 25% of all premises registered to-date, and many western state or agriculturally dependent states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska, and North Dakota registered above 45%.
Young people understand the future they will live in while others may be focused on holding onto the past. The first 4-H Corn Clubs led the way into hybrid corn because they wanted a future on the farm that would be different than their parent’s past. FFA and 4-H youth understand that for better or for worse, today’s world is different than the world of the past 25 years. “The youth involved in the National FFA Organization are the future of agriculture in the United States. As the Nation’s next farmers, it’s fitting that they are at the forefront of NAIS (National Animal identification System), and we are excited about their involvement in the program,” said Bruce Knight, undersecretary for USDA’s marketing and regulatory programs.” Educational elements are added to the FFA/4-H contest rules to help youth actually experience new concepts at work.
It is about protecting agricultural animals and the agricultural economy, nothing more and nothing less. That should be compelling enough.
Reference: Gilson, Donna, Pseudorabies Confirmed in Clark County; local surveillance moves ahead, 04-17-2007
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