Town hall-style meetings slated on animal identification system

The state Department of Agriculture and Markets will change its outreach to farmers to explain participation in the National Animal Identification System after state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, suggested smaller meetings.

"We have conducted regional meetings, but he suggested smaller, town hall-style meetings," said Jessica A. Chittenden, spokeswoman for Ag and Markets. "We're slightly changing our outreach to continue to reach more people."

The department plans to hold several large regional meetings and conduct outreach at county fairs and a media campaign, similar to the program for 2007, but it also will schedule smaller town hall meetings with specialized groups of farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is implementing the identification system to keep track of animals as an effort to limit disease outbreak. In addition to tracking every property with farm animals, each animal would be required to have a radio-frequency transmitter to track its movement, while farmers report animal movements to the government.

Through federal funding, Ag and Markets provides information on the national system and on the state animal health information system that assists the national system. The state system uses the same devices and is based on farm locations.

"The state program notifies and identifies establishments with animals in case of an emergency," Ms. Chittenden said.

But Sen. Aubertine said the system will not help food safety.

"Some have tried to frame this as a food safety issue, but it's not," he said in a press release. "Food safety begins with the slaughter of the animal, which is where NAIS ends."

Instead, he said, it will place a burden on farmers.

Sen. Aubertine spoke about the NAIS at a May 11 meeting in Hammond organized by North Country Seed & Feed. Farmers there expressed concerns over the cost for small farms and the government taking a big-brother role.

In Jefferson County, agricultural coordinator Jay M. Matteson said there's a whole range of attitudes toward the identification system.

"There are some that are very skeptical of any sort of program and some that are really in favor of it," he said. "My concern with not participating is that it appears that customers are wanting to know where their food comes from."

But farmers need to be allowed to pass on the cost for such a system, he said.

Jefferson County Farm Bureau will host a workshop with the state and federal departments at 7 p.m. June 18 at the First Pioneer Farm Credit Office, Route 12, Burrville. County Legislator Philip N. Reed pushed for the forum.

"Farmers need to get factual information and participate based on the facts," Mr. Matteson said.

Sen. Aubertine introduced a bill that would require the Department of Agriculture and Markets to survey farmers and allow them to opt out of the NAIS if they so choose. The bill, S. 8132, has been referred to the Agriculture Committee and has a partner bill in the Assembly.