NCBA Opposes Canadian OTM Cattle/Beef

[Willowcreek]

cowman- USDA went about the program wrong by trying to federally mandate it- then worsened the situation by trying to give it to one Political Action Group (NCBA) to run...That has set M-ID back a few years...

M-ID will come to be..USDA is doing it right now by allowing the states to set up their own systems (under federal guidelines).. The states can build their own system or join with existing private systems...Montana has gone with e-merge dataabase I see...USDA possibly didn't have the authority and definitely didn't have the ability to enforce and/or police it and probably was illegal in trying to give it to any ONE private group (NCBA)...

Frenchie doesn't understand it- But our government (a Republic) was built around the idea of strong state governments and a weak (?) Federal government which most view as having gotten too powerful...People (and especially rural land owners) have little trust when someone shows up at your door and says "We're from the Federal Guverment and we're here to help you!!!"

The state governments have the constitutional ability to mandate it and enforce it- but USDA and NCBA's playing games have set it back a few years..

[cowman]

Willowcreek: I know you have a different mindset down there and I can understand that...indeed think it has a great deal of merit!
We didn't have that kind of option here and to tell you the truth if we did we probably would have rejected mandatory ID!
Personally I wasn't opposed to the concept of a national ID but I didn't think I should pay for it! After that steer calf leaves my place everybody benifits, from the feedlot, packer, retailer, exporter, government, consumer...but I do the labor...and I pay for the tag...and if there is a problem down the line they come to me!
I believe the federal government should have at least paid for the tag, seeing how no one else would.

[FRENCHMAN]

Cowman ..the point I was trying to make to Oldtimer was You can not have an effective national I.D program that allows producers in certain states to move non I.Ded livestock between them it just don,t work.

Just imagine 48 states trying to make their systems all work together..good luck

I.m.H.O As far as I.D cost.. its just another business expense to me.

What we all need to remember is we are producing food for someones table.

[cowman]

Frenchman: Yes I do agree it is just another business expense and if no one else is going to pick up the ball then we have to. The same idea was the idea of age verification this past fall? We did it here on the calves although it resulted in zero dollars in our pocket? We intend to do it with all the cows this year.
I do find it frustrating that a group like R-CALF would use the lack of their ability in the USA to come up with an ID plan, as a further excuse to bar Canadian breeding stock? In effect they have denied our seedstock producers access to their market by their own inefficient system? On top of this there is a huge pent up demand for Canadian genetics south of the border! It must also be frustrating for the American cattleman to be denied the ability to access Canadian breeding stock? I wonder if a good portion of R-CALF members are purebred breeders?