USDA Skirting Administrative Procedures and Other Acts to Make NAIS Mandatory

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund Says Michigan Effort Part of USDA State-by-State Plan to Make NAIS Mandatory

April 15, 2009 11:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time
FALLS CHURCH, Va.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Assertions by both the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that neither government agency is taking actions to make the adoption of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) mandatory are false, says the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

“All of the individual plaintiffs are farmers. They are the salt of the earth and stewards of the land. They all raise livestock and they all do so in a sustainable manner…Unfortunately, USDA and NAIS are destroying their pleasant agricultural way of life.”

The Fund last year filed suit in the U.S. District Court – District of Columbia against the USDA and the MDA to stop the implementation of NAIS. In recent court filings in response to motions filed by MDA and the USDA to dismiss the suit, the Fund charges that the USDA’s action in Michigan is part of a broader, state-by-state effort to make NAIS mandatory in violation of, among other statutes, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

“The situation in Michigan is merely the most egregious example of how the USDA is bypassing the steps required under the APA for the implementation of such a massive animal identification program,” noted Pete Kennedy, acting president of the Fund.

Under the Michigan program, the first two stages of NAIS – property registration and animal identification – for all cattle owners across the state were implemented as part of a mandatory bovine tuberculosis disease control program required by a grant from the USDA.

Kennedy noted that the USDA has also resorted to backdoor tactics in other states to coerce mandatory compliance with the animal identification program.

“Tennessee denied drought-stricken farmers disaster relief if they were not registered in NAIS, while children were kicked out of the Colorado state fair for not being registered. Ranchers in Idaho found themselves registered in NAIS without their knowledge or consent after filling out paperwork to keep their rights to their brands, while horse owners in New York were similarly registered after taking their horses in for routine disease testing,” he said.

But Kennedy also noted that where the voices of small farmers are being heard, the opposition to making NAIS mandatory is growing. Five separate state legislatures—Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska, Kentucky, and Utah—have already passed anti-NAIS legislation, and Texas is considering legislation prohibiting its mandatory implementation.

“With our suit, we’re asking for a judicial review of the USDA’s attempts to continue to implement NAIS without following proper procedure, since NAIS could put many small farmers out of business,” said Kennedy.

In its filings, the Fund also took exception to claims that the plaintiffs had no standing to sue and that NAIS would cause them no harm:

“All of the individual plaintiffs are farmers. They are the salt of the earth and stewards of the land. They all raise livestock and they all do so in a sustainable manner…Unfortunately, USDA and NAIS are destroying their pleasant agricultural way of life.”

The Fund’s suit also charges that USDA has never performed an Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act; is in violation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act that requires the USDA to analyze proposed rules for their economic impact on small entities and local governments; and violates religious freedoms guaranteed by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

About The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: The Fund defends the rights and broadens the freedoms of sustainable farmers, and protects consumer access to local, nutrient-dense foods. Concerned citizens can support the Fund by joining at www.farmtoconsumer.org or by contacting the Fund at 703-208-FARM (3276). The Fund’s sister organization, the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation works to promote consumer access to local, nutrient-dense food and support farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship.

Contacts
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
Taaron G. Meikle, 703-537-8372
tgmeikle@aol.com
or
Cummings & Company LLC
Brian Cummings, 214-295-7463
brian@cummingspr.com

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