Okay, you have the big picture of how regulations are created. Now let’s look at the USDA’s final rule on numbering premises and animals under NAIS, issued July 18, 2007. The new Animal Identification Number (AIN) rule is an excellent example of one of the many things wrong with NAIS—we small producers weren’t consulted. It also shows exactly how USDA, like other agencies, has twisted the system to make it work in its favor, not ours.

The AIN rule proves (in case you had doubts) the federal government plans to go forward with NAIS. They certainly wouldn’t go into detail about how to number the registrations of your property and your animals unless they intended to force registration. The final rule is based on an interim rule published November 8, 2004 (69 FR 64644-64651, Docket No. 04-052-1). When that rule was published in the Federal Register, the full NAIS plan was unknown. The deadline for comments was January 2, 2005—three months before the original draft NAIS plan documents were published by USDA. Who was looking for NAIS regulations then?

USDA received 16 comments on the interim rule. Somehow out of this small number, they claim they received comments from “beef, cattle, sheep, goat, and poultry producers; producers associations; and state governments.” (You can find the full notice of the Final Rule on AIN at 72 FR 39301-39307.)

As we all know from the past two years, producers in the minds of USDA officials, are large corporate producers, such as Tyson and Cargill—not you and me. Since the NAIS was made public, USDA has received thousands of comments from people like us. But those comments were after the deadline, so they weren’t taken into account in creating the final rule. Not one comment among the original 16 questioned the existence of NAIS; they merely advised on minor changes to the numbering system.

The final rule establishes basic, high-level aspects of the Animal Identification Number system:

• 15-digits
• nationally unique
• first three digits identify the country (the United States number is 840)
• phasing out of transitional tags that include USA or a manufacturer’s identification.

USDA agreed with one commenter on AIN: numbers with 840 at the beginning will be the “one uniform, standardized, and technology-neutral numbering system for the NAIS.... and use[d] in disease control and eradication programs.” This rule rejects branding, metal tags, and the transitional numbers. Say goodbye to rumors that existing systems will stay.

USDA agreed with one comment on the Premises Identification Number (PIN). The PIN will be:

• nationally unique
• a seven-digit alphanumeric code
• assigned by state, federal, and tribal animal authorities based on a “geographically distinct location from other premises”
• “associated with an address, geospatial coordinates, and/or other location descriptors.”

USDA amended the meaning of premises to mean “a location where livestock or poultry are held or kept.” Just so you don’t get lost in the mumbo-jumbo, let’s call this what it is: a property identification number. Calling it premises registration has the same legal effect, but USDA clearly hopes it won’t make you as angry as calling it property registration.

In short, USDA is obviously moving forward in implementing NAIS. They have a numbering system for our real estate property and our animal property. The grassroots outcry against NAIS has not moved USDA to change its plans.

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Karin Bergener of Ravenna, Ohio, is an attorney and co-founder of Liberty Ark Coalition. This article appeared in the Autumn 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.