Animal I.D. Expo Set For Kansas City

Among the more controversial agricultural issues facing the livestock industry is the ongoing debate over the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). As with other government programs, proposed or existing, there is a lot of misinformation out in the public discourse about how the system will actually work and who will be affected.

To help dispel many of the animal ID myths and to foster an in-depth discussion on the topic, the National Institute for Animal Agriculture is sponsoring the ID INFO EXPO 2009, which takes place August 25-27 in Kansas City, MO. This is the eighth year of the expo. The expo will feature three days of speakers representing the various stakeholder interests.

The first session will feature government and industry experts who discuss the current state of the program based on a variety of issues. The discussion will cover traceability in domestic and foreign markets, the need for a trace back system, state involvement, and Homeland Security needs. The second day will focus on the producer side of the issue, including a discussion on potential costs. The final day will look at the program from the consumer perspective.

According to the story in Pork Magazine, Glenn Fischer, ID INFO EXPO planning committee chairman, hopes that ‘“At the conclusion of the conference, our goal is to have listened and learned so we in animal agriculture can identify solutions that will help advance a system that is animal-health driven, moves toward 48-hour traceability and helps preserve the profitability of our animal agriculture industry[.]”’

More info on the conference can be obtained by clicking here.
To read the Pork Magazine story click here.

Posted: 08/21/09