VoteKansas.org

Cindy,
Actually, I do not know the answer to that question. I monitor 58 lists Nation-wide, about half of which I have created including Kansans_AGAINST_Nais@yahoogroups.com I try to post to these lists as often as I have useful information. But to be effective in stopping this hideous disease called NAIS we need to be organized. Groups in Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas have sprung up and seem to be organized and doing a pretty good job of resisting the creeping NAIS. But here in Kansas I have seen very little resistance to NAIS and not many list members ever post anything to the Kansas list. Its almost like everyone is waiting for someone else to take the lead or maybe they just think it won't happen or maybe they just don't mind spending $30.00 a head to put RFID tags in the ears of their animals.

Our dairy goat herd is on standard milk test. We use a computer software program called PC-DART on the farm. This program is an on-line system tied to the Heart of America DHIA lab in Manhattan that processes our monthly milk samples. It is a total dairy management program but primarily gives us almost instant access to our monthly milk test results. Recently we attended a workshop in Lawrence to get updates on this software program and learn more about how to use it to it's fullest potential. During this workshop there was a pretty good discussion on NAIS. The presenter was from the Dairy Records Processing Center [DRPC] in Ames, Iowa, which is also tied to the PC-DART program. The presenter used a power point to demonstrate how cattle dairies could benefit from the NAIS. It showed a dairy farmer going along in front of the milk stanchions in his milk barn waving a wand over the ears of his cows as they were being milked. This wand/transponder/readers [much like the one you see the UPS driver use when he delivers packages to you, only much bigger and longer] gathered information and sent the information wireless to a small pocket computer being carried by the farmer. Then after each animal's Radio Frequency Identification Tag [RFID] had been scanned, the small pocket computer was taken to the office and connected to the larger computer and downloaded into it. The information is then sent on-line to the Dairy Records Processing Center [DRPC] in Ames. Iowa. Ostensibly, this information is sued by the DRPC for things like removing a cow from their production list/records/system when she is sold or dies, etc. so the DRPC won't be carrying her in the system as a dry cow. In other words, its a kind of on-going way to keep records instantly and accurately updated.

Now that all sounds pretty good until they put the forms on the screen and show you that they have added a box for NAIS notification. It is not yet a requirement in Kansas but in Pennsylvania you cannot sell an animal with out "premise identification" number. You also have to notify the state veterinarians office of the animal movement, regardless of the reason for the movement. It was explained that the DRPC has the information and it is "just a push of the button to send it on to the Penn. State Vet's office"
who is responsible for maintaining the data base. It was explained that it is not expensive because they are already collecting the information for individual farm management purposes and again, "it is just a push of the button to send it on to Pennsylvania."
In answer to the question about how do they get information from those farms that are not on the PC-DART program and not no dairy test? The answer, well its just voluntary for now and but when it becomes mandatory in Kansas the farmer/animal owners will be individually responsible for their own reporting which, obviously, will be expensive and time consuming, an din violation of your privacy rights.

The other thing we learned at the DHIA workshop is that the wand/transponder/readers and pocket PC, both needed to make the RFID tag system work, cost a total of about $1,100 or more. It was mentioned that just think they are universal so they can be used at goat shows, slaughter houses, etc. Then they passed around two samples of RFID ear tags. Some concern was expressed that the size of the part that punctured the ear could cause excessive bleeding and infection. We were told to move it around and try to avoid the big blood veins. The tags were huge, way too big for a goat's ear.

In addition to the extra work involved and the expense of about $3.50 per heard for the RFID tags, the data seems to be collected and sent on to the data base without the knowledge or consent of the animal owner or notifying him that his individual privacy rights might be violated in the process.
[Blog Post on this information]

If any of the dairy farmers in the workshop group objected they sure never said anything. If the lack of activity on our Kansans_AGAINST_NAIS@yahoogorups.com discussion list is any indication, NAIS will be implemented in Kansas without a whimper when they decide to do it.

Personally, the only way I see to stop NAIS is if fellow animal owners in Kansas rise up as a group and resist it but that doesn't seem to be happening. I might also add that the USDA is funneling money through the Kansas Department of Agriculture, our own tax dollars at work, to pay the salaries of persons to attend state and local fairs and other functions and gatherings of animal owners to promote the NAIS system as an immediate trace back system in case of emergency disease outbreak. Well we already have such a statute in Kansas and I have posted that information to this list on previous occasions. The real reason for the NAIS is to help the mega meat producers sell more meat and to totally control the market system. Squeeze out the little guy and the hobby farmers.

I hope this information has been useful.
Noah