Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (Gubmint Counting Your Chickens--Literally! Alert!)

Farm And Ranch Freedom Alliance website ^

[pillut48]

The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) is leading the fight to save family farms and individuals from expensive and unnecessary government regulation. Help us protect our food supply and our liberties!

The National Animal Identification System ("NAIS") poses a serious threat to all farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, and companion-animal owners, whether they are organic or conventional, small or large, involved with animals for business or for pleasure. If it is made mandatory, every person with even one horse, cow, chicken, pig, goat, sheep, or virtually any other livestock animal on their premises will be required to register their homes and property into a database and subject their property and animals to government surveillance.

Under the current plans, each animal would have to be identified and physically tagged, in many cases with radio frequency tags or microchips. Factory farms of chickens and swine would be able to identify whole groups of animals with one number, but most regular farmers and individuals would have to identify each animal individually. “Events” in the animal’s life would have to be reported within 24 hours. All of this information will be kept in databases by the state government or private companies, while the federal government will have the right to access the databases as it deems necessary.

Although NAIS is voluntary right now in most States, and there are no federal regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stated that it wants every single person who owns even one animal to be involved by 2009. The USDA is funding mandatory and coercive programs in some States, and the program is likely to continue expanding unless Congress and State legislatures put a stop to it.

The NAIS does not distinguish between large corporate factory farms and the smallest family farm, pleasure horse owner, or the grandmother with a few laying hens. The NAIS will drive small and medium-size farmers and ranchers out of business, increasing the consolidation of our food supply into the hands of a few large, multinational corporations. The government is wasting your taxpayer dollars on a program that will lead to increased food prices and decreased quality.

For more information concerning the NAIS or the Farm and anch Freedom Alliance, email info@farmandranchfreedom.org or call (866) 687-6452 (toll free).

[pillut48]

Heard about this this morning on a local radio show ("The Dirt Doctor" with Howard Garrett) and was totally appalled at what the representative from FARFA was reporting!! This could mean the END of small family farms and ranches due to red tape and exorbitant fees!! I have friends who have a small cattle business (about 100 head) and this would send them into bankruptcy--with this economy they aren't far from that point as it is!!

The rep mentioned that even just riding your horse across your land would have to be reported! This is nuts, plain and simple. Of course, it would actually benefit the big corporate farms and give them NO competition, while screwing the backbone of American farmers and ranchers with all this paperwork, etc. foolishness!!

[Lion Den Dan]

If this is not bad enough, look out for a Food Safety Act which is being drafted. This act will regulate all forms of food production; farm, slaughter house, vegetable “farmers markets,” grocery stores, restaurants etc. Things are not looking good for the home team.

[SteelTrap]

Of course, it would actually benefit the big corporate farms and give them NO competition, while screwing the backbone of American farmers and ranchers with all this paperwork, etc. foolishness!!

You hit the nail on the head. The vast majority of laws are made to benefit the big dogs and to price their competition out of the market. Every regulation from ERISA to SarBox was made to make it harder for an average Joe to create anything that could jeopardize the established old money interests.

[Fiddlstix]

I’m Speechless

[spodefly]

The “Department of Food” is an inevitability if the political class is to achieve total dominance over the population.

[saganite]

I read a quote from one of the major corporate farm CEO’s several years ago who blamed small hobby farmers and ranchers for depressing prices of meat. I guarantee you that is who is behind this. Wouldn’t it be ironic if a Dem administration (you know, the compassionate folks who look out for the little guy) allowed plans to go forward which could potentially wipe out those small farmers?

Disclaimer: My folks are retired and run about 20 head of cattle on 70 acres in Oklahoma. They are the target of idiotic legislation like this.

[Sylvester McMonkey McBean]

I wonder if a religious exclusion exists? If so, could be an awful lot of folks “converting” to Santeria.

[SumProVita]

If such legislation is proposed, it will never succeed. It’s far too stupid...

[PatriotGirl827]

bookmark

[FlingWingFlyer]

Is this one of those government flatulence things?

[gardencatz]

Yes, this is very, very scary. At one point we thought we had this put to rest but this kind of regulation with its unintended consequences is tailor made for the Obama administration who want to micromanage every aspect of our lives. I’m a chicken farmer and raise free range laying hens. If this goes through I’m screwed.

Cindie

[freekitty]

Hide them and when the gubmint comes calling send them to the pasture with the not so friendly bull in it.

[Liberty Valance]

bttt

[tiki]

Even George Orwell couldn’t have thought of this.

[miele man]

Does this apply to keeping honeybees as well? It’d bee a bit of a chore to individually tag each one of them, wouldn’t it?

[tiki]

I was just thinking, how many thousands of people would have to be hired to implement this?

It is this kind of stuff that gives farmers reputations of being “welfare” farmers. They allocate all this money to run all these programs and regulations that farmers didn’t ask for and didn’t want and then the farmers get blamed for spending the money.

[TheConservativeParty]

We raised chickens, pigs, and beef cattle when I was a kid. Yesterday, as our conservative warrior local talk radio host Vicki McKenna was disecting our horrible governor’s “budget” she said he (Doyle) is raising the “slaughter fees” here in WI. Not being a commercial livestock farm, I had no idea there even was a “slaughter fee”. How about that. If is moves tax it, if it breathes tax it, if it’s dead tax it.........Good Grief.

[dusttoyou]

We’re from the government and we’re here to help you.

Must apologize for lifting the line from another thread, but it is growing in relevance and as an alarm bell by the minute!

[FrankR]

Washington idiots looking for the next, new, Crisis to tax.

[Seven plus One]

Proposed, passed, failed, still on the books. The story of most legislation. This one would be a flagrant disaster, but it’s stupid enough that only government could ever consider it. Hope’n’Change and all.