Free Republic

McDonald's is paying premiums, and Wal-Mart is making demands. And, with the impending reopening of the Japan market, we're likely to see premiums equaling those producers enjoyed last fall for source- and age-verified cattle. -Troy Marshall of Seed Stock Digest If NAIS goes through McDonald's and other big buyers will stop paying premiums to farmers that offer Animal ID and Trace-Back. Everyone will be required to provide that service of trace-back so there will be no incentive for buyers who want trace-back to pay for it as stands with the existing market driven system. NAIS is a great way for...

BENNINGTON — Vermont is at a greater risk of a major outbreak of animal-borne disease if it does not begin tracking its livestock, says the state's agriculture chief. While local health officials are confident in their ability to deal with the avian flu, Steve Kerr, the state's agriculture secretary, is discouraged by efforts to block related preparations. A debate has emerged in the state and nation over the need to track livestock. The yet-to-be implemented National Animal Identification System is a federal plan to ear-tag and track the movements of all domestic livestock in the United States by 2009. Many...