Bill Truesdell wrote:

<The tags were mandated for cows, because of mad cow disease.>

I don't believe it is currently mandantory but will be at some point in the future after 2008.

From the anamalid.aphis.usda site:
NAIS is currently a voluntary program. To ensure the participation requirements of NAIS not only provide the results necessary to maintain the health of the national herd but also is a program that is practical for producers and all others involved in production, USDA has adopted a phased-in approach to implementation. Although the draft strategic plan references mandatory requirements in 2008 and beyond, to date no actions have been initiated by USDA to develop regulations to require participation in NAIS. 

We've done a couple of pilot programs with 400 head of calves headed for the feed lots and there has been mixed results.  The implant RFID's are cheap enough at $ 2.00 a head but the reader was almost $ 600.00 and one trucking firm did a reader install on some of its trucks, with very poor results, as only about 20-40% of the tags were being properly identified, so some work still needs to be done to id stock moving onto a truck or passing through a gate with a reader attached.   Some of the implants apparently  migrated from the left ear down into the neck and beyond as well but this thing is coming and you won't be able to sell a calf or cow without pasture of birth to processing plant verification for each and every animal.  It has many safety considerations, but I am sure that money is the ultimate motivator.   Tracking all live animals with large values helps Big Daddy keep an eye on money flow as well and ultimately keeps all those playing the game honest.  Mad cow is a timely coincidence as far as I'm concerned.   Yes its serious buisiness but it is being overblown by the media.  You can't get mad cow without eating the brain, spinal cord or fluid and this material can be safely removed during processing the animal.   Feed containing these animal byproducts is never fed by any producer to his herd knowingly and most of the animals fed for human consumption are not the ones being found as contaminated, but usually long lived dairy animals.  This has been worse than the hype regarding killer bees. Small producers will simply have to cooperate with a larger operator who will implant and deliver through their i.d.'s, product to market.  
The same will eventually happen with honey.   It is not far away.  Smaller producers will have to extract at a licensed and approved FDA facility that will also filter and pack the honey for safety concerns.  And that really is legitmate to a certain degree as everyones opinion as to quality standards for extracting and processing vary and I'm aware of several whose standards don't meet levels where I would consume their product.  Unfortunately, these fellows can also negatively impact my market as well with one bad report or incident that the national media gets ahold of and takes our 1.6 or 1.7 lbs per person average (or whatever it is ) down to a third that level.
End result is: once again you either get large enough to stay in the game or ride along with someone who is.

Tim Tucker

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