Making a model-farm dream practical and sustainable(further developments in comments)

Last-minute community support could avert development and save a site near Tryon Creek

They call it the Tryon Life Community Farm. But the acronym the nonprofit group uses to describe its dream also has a nice ring to it: The TLC Farm.

As of Monday, The Oregonian's Fred Leeson reported, the nonprofit was $100,000 shy of its goal of acquiring seven acres adjoining Tryon Creek State Natural Area (previously known as Tryon Creek State Park). If the site can be purchased, the nonprofit hopes to build a demonstration farm on it, showcasing organic farming and environmental building practices as well as techniques for watershed and habitat restoration.

If that sounds green and dreamy, it also sounds like a realistic goal in the Portland area. Members of the nonprofit TLC group have already demonstrated that they are willing to labor, not just dream. They have created a large organic garden and worked hard to remove invasive species (we all know how much fun that is, but five goats help with blackberry removal).

Over the past year, the group has also started offering the kind of environmental education classes, tours and workshops it eventually hopes to specialize in. Near the stunning Tryon Creek State Natural Area, a model organic farm would actually be a good fit, helping to buffer the park and preserve this acreage from a more intensive development. In Portland, it's conceivable that the farm, in a small and quiet way, would even sprout into a mini tourist attraction.

For this dream to move forward, though, the nonprofit must nail down the remaining money to purchase the property by Tuesday. The property owners have already said that, one way or the other, they must sell the property. A previous development proposal called for high-end houses. However nice these private homes might be, a small farm and environmental education center would be wiser on that acreage, more in the public interest and, potentially, a community treasure, not unlike Tryon Creek park itself.

The nonprofit group that is working to preserve the land wouldn't own it, but would work the farm as tenants. A statewide organization called the Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust would hold the title.

In Portland, this kind of project sounds doable, even (as they say) sustainable. All that's needed is the public's help, some willing green thumbs and a little TLC.

Facts compiled to show what is trying to be forced to make all livestock owners a 'community model'. These facts were compiled from the USDA National ID system model by a member of a Yahoo Group.

HARD QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ANIMAL ID SYSTEM (NAIS)

1. What is the NAIS? A scheme hatched by the federal government and corporate agribusiness to tag every animal in the US with an identity number and to track every animal through processing. The excuse for it is the discovery of two cases of mad cow disease (BSE or bovine spongiform encephalopathy).

2. What does it require? It requires every farm in the country to register as a “premises.” Each registered premises will then have to register & tag every alpaca, bison, cow, emu, goat, horse, llama, sheep, swine, and all poultry. (As far as we know right now, catfish and goldfish are exempted.) It provides no exemptions. If you have as much as one chicken, you must register.

3. What does it mean? This is not about controlling disease, it’s about controlling farmers. When social security was first introduced, the government promised the people that the number would never be used for “identification purposes.” But today you can’t get health care, insurance, a bank account, an apartment, a job, or your tooth pulled without giving a social security number.

4. Isn’t it voluntary? Only for now. The present USDA “Draft Strategic Plan” calls for making it mandatory by January 2008. “Mandatory” means that they will fine, arrest, or jail you if you refuse to comply. For the system to work, the government obviously must force every farm and every farmer to register every animal, and no one will be able to seek veterinary care, transport, sell, or process animals without registry. In other words, the freedom to farm that has belonged to mankind since Creation will be abolished.

5. Who and what is behind the NAIS? According to the USDA National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Draft Strategic Plan 2005 to 2009, page 3, paragraph 1, at http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/members/memberdirectory.asp, “In 2002, the National Institute of Animal Agriculture (NIAA) initiated meetings that led to the development of the U.S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP).” “Driving force – The strongest driving force for developing the NAIS is the risk of an outbreak of a foreign animal disease (FAD). There is broad support for NAIS among government, industry, and public stakeholders.” (“Stakeholders are defined as those individuals and groups in the public and private sectors who are interested in and/or affected by the Department's activities and decisions.” http://www.ci.doe.gov/cigapol.htm.)

6. Who is the National Institute of Animal Agriculture? NIAA website states, “The mission of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture is to provide a forum for building consensus and advancing solutions for animal agriculture and to provide continuing education and communication linkages to animal agriculture professionals.” http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/facts/factsheet.asp. In fact, the NIAA is a national agribusiness organization whose purpose appears to be lobbying government for laws and policies that favour agribusiness. A brief glance at the board of directors seems to confirm that, since all are drawn from agribusiness companies, industry groups, or schools of agriculture (which notoriously favour corporate agribusiness over small farmers and sustainable agriculture). http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/leadersstaff/BOD.asp. A list of members leads to the same conclusion. http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/members/memberdirectory.asp.

7. Who will bear the burden of NAIS? Small farmers, and especially those engaged in the New Agriculture (“permaculture” or “sustainable agriculture”). First, they will be forced to pay for NAIS, at least in part. Second, they will be forced to work for NAIS. In the words of the NAIS Draft Strategic Plan, page 14, paragraph 3, “All groups will need to provide labour.” NAIS will add yet another cost disadvantage to small farmers and the New Agriculture, and will make local agriculture less competitive with agribusiness. http://animalagriculture.org/aboutNIAA/members/memberdirectory.asp.

8. Won’t NAIS help prevent and control disease? No, NAIS isn’t about preventing or controlling disease, it’s about marketing. When a case of mad cow disease (or any other disease) surfaces, NAIS aims to protect meat producers’ markets by tracking animals through processing to “prove” that only a few animals are affected and so prevent a public revulsion against their meat. The most effective way to control disease is to produce meat and milk for local instead of national markets and “closed herd” techniques.

National Animal Identification System (NAIS)
Fact Sheet

The National Animal Identification System is being put into place “to enable 48 hour traceback of the movements of any diseased or exposed animal.”

The NAIS consists of three components:

# Premises registration
# Animal identification
# Animal tracking

Those putting this into place do not consider you the owner of your animals. Their approach to this is “We must ensure the participation requirements of the NAIS not only provide the results necessary to maintain the health of the national herd …

The government is already encouraging voluntary registration on the radio.

“The USDA…will enact regulations by early 2008, requiring stakeholders to identify their premises and animals. At that time, all animals leaving their current premises must be identified with the AIN or Group/Lot ID.

“ Even with public funding, there will be costs to producers. Both public and private funding will be required for the NAIS to become fully operational. The Federal government is providing the standards, national databases, and basic infrastructure.

# States and Tribes will register premises within their areas. They will also support the administration of animal identification and tracking systems that will feed information into the national database.
# Producers will identify their animals and provide necessary records to the databases.
# Managers of shows and events will report a record of participating animals.
# Market operators and processing plants will provide animal location records.
# Service providers and third parties will assist by providing animal identification and movement records to the NAIS on behalf of their producer clients.
# All groups will need to provide labour.”

The Timetable
2005:
• Premises registration: July 2005: All States operational
• Animal identification: August 2005: Initiate “840” number with AIN tag manufacturers and AIN tag managers
• Animal tracking: January-December 2005: Test identification and automated data collection technologies

2006:
• Premises Registration: April 2006: Performance measure: 25% of all premises registered
• Animal identification: April 2006: AIN Management System fully operational
• Animal tracking:
- July 2006: Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI) operational in all States
- Focus on integration of management systems to forward animal locations/sightings

2007
• Premises registration: April 2007: Premises registration “alert” (scaled up communication campaign to create awareness of January 2008 requirements for premises registration).
• Animal identification: April 2007: Animal identification alert (scaled up communication campaign to create awareness of January 2008 requirements for animal identification).

• Animal tracking:
- April 2007: Incentives to report interstate movements using ICVI or electronic movement permit system.
- October 2007: Infrastructure established to collect animal termination records at high capacity abattoirs.
- Initiate collection of animal movements at concentration points (markets, feedlots, etc.).
- Expand the integration of management systems to forward animal locations/sightings.

NAIS Strategic Plan - DRAFT Lines of Action

2008:
• Premises registration: January 2008: All premises registered with enforcement (regardless of livestock movements).
• Animal Identification: January 2008: Animal identification required with enforcement.
• Animal tracking:
- July 2008: Collect high percentage of animal termination
records at abattoirs (processing plants).
- July 2008: Collection and reporting all defined
movements.

2009:
- January 2009: Enforcement for the reporting of animal
movements.
- NAIS fully implemented and all components are mandatory.

Additional Notes:

>>>>The national search for a long term ID and tracking solution for an estimated 30 million animals has already been underway. The recent events will obviously add impetus to speed this process up. The National Animal Identification Development Team (NAIDT) has developed the USA Identification Plan (USAIP). NAIDT is a group of approximately 100 animal and livestock industry professionals representing over 70 associations, organizations, and government agencies including USDA. Development has been a voluntary effort by all participants working collaboratively to establish an effective national animal identification plan. The USAIP focus is on enhancing the nation's capability to accurately and effectively locate and trace individual animals and/or groups of animals within 48 hours should an animal health emergency arise.

So who are these 100 people? Who chose them? What do they have to benefit?

It says they represent the animal associations?

Really?

Aren't the associations suppose to represent you all?

How many of these 100 people have financial interests in Optibrand?

http://www.optibrand.com/uploadedfiles/Animal_ID.pdf

Dr. Robert Fourdraine
- Robert Fourdraine was also the IT director for U.S. Animal
Identification Plan (USAIP). They want to implement a national animal
identification system for the United States.

- Dr. Robert Fourdraine
Holstein Association USA

- Dr. Robert Fourdraine
NIAA Animal Identification and Information Systems Committee chair.

- Dr. Robert Fourdraine
Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium

- Dr. Robert Fourdraine
USAHA/AAVLD Committee On Animal Health Information Systems

Wow, so many hats....Who is looking our for who's interest?

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