So what is actually happening with legislation? The Farm Bill and the Agriculture Appropriations Bill are the biggest targets on the horizon for those of us who oppose NAIS. The Farm Bill states what USDA should do. The Agriculture Appropriations Bill provides the funding. Sometimes the Appropriations Bill states what USDA should do by setting goals USDA must meet before it receives part of its funding.

Farm Bill. In May, Representative Collin Peterson added a provision to the Farm Bill that would have allowed the USDA to use mandatory animal identification to implement Country of Origin Labeling, providing USDA with a perfect excuse to make NAIS mandatory. Anti-NAIS groups such as the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Liberty Ark Coalition, R-CALF, and Organic Consumers Association all opposed this provision. In response to the grassroots outcry, the House Committee on Agriculture removed the provision from the Farm Bill. The House voted to approve its version of the Farm Bill without the NAIS—so we won that round.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture will work on its version of the Farm Bill in September 2007. Although nothing is certain, it seems unlikely the Senate will repeat Representative Peterson’s attempt to link NAIS to County of Origin Labeling. But it is possible that the Senate Committee will include some provision for NAIS in its version of the Farm Bill.

Appropriations Bill. The issue of funding for NAIS has heated up in Congress. In July, the House approved the Agriculture Appropriations bill for 2008. The bill did not include funding for NAIS under that name, but did include funding for two closely related programs: the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium (WLIC) and the Farm Animal Identification and Records program (FAIR). As with the Farm Bill, the Senate will work on its version of the Agriculture Appropriations bill in September. The Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended continuing funding for NAIS.

Because of the timing of these issues, it’s important to contact your senator now. In addition to contacting the two senators from your state, contact these four key people on the Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees:

Senator Harkin, Chair of Agriculture Committee, phone 202-224-2035, fax 202-224-1725;

Senator Chambliss, Ranking Minority Member of Agriculture Committee, phone 202-224-3521, fax 202-224-0103;

Senator Robert Byrd, Chair of Appropriations Committee, phone 202-224-7363, fax 202-224-2100;

Senator Thad Cochran, Ranking Minority Member of Appropriations Committee, phone 202-224-7257, fax 202-224-9450.

• Making a Difference

Judith McGeary is an attorney in Austin, Texas, who together with her husband runs a small grass-based farm with horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry. She is executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, where you can get tools to help fight NAIS—from educating your neighbors to lobbying your legislators. This article appeared in Autumn 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.