The USDA is on track to issue a final rule on Animal ID this summer that will cause significant problems for independent ranchers, small farmers, and even backyard poultry owners. The associated tagging and paperwork requirements could collectively cost hundreds of millions of dollars, yet the agency has designated the final rule as "not economically significant."
The bottom line is that this animal ID rule is a solution in search of a problem. The USDA has failed to identify the specific problem or disease of concern. Instead, the real focus of the program is helping the export market for the benefit of a handful of large corporations.
The agency has also failed to account for the true cost to private individuals, businesses, and state and federal agencies, creating an unfunded mandate. The new rule will harm rural businesses while wasting taxpayer dollars that could be better spent on the real problems we face in controlling animal disease, food security, and food safety.
Please help protect our farms and our right to own animals by contacting your Representative today!
Call your U.S. Representative and ask him or her to work to stop funding for the Animal ID rule until and unless the agency addresses the full costs of the proposal.
If you don’t know who represents you, you can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or find out online at www.house.gov.
For more information, check out this link.
