Massachusetts NAIS

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The State of Massachusetts has gathered your information on your livestock and intends to register your premises. How did they get your information in the first place? By a survey, by animal testing? Who is releasing your information that you thought was CONFIDENTIAL? they are opting you in the NAIS but they are ALLOWING you to OPT OUT, Are you really out of a Database, your name never really dissappears.

http://www.mass.gov/agr/animalhealth/docs/nais_advisory_11202007.pdf

Posted November 21, 2007

From Mary Z:

You will recall that in summer 2006 the Massachusetts Dept of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) started uploading animal owner info from the state’s annual ag survey to the USDA premises database, all without any prior notification to the animal owners. Due to public outcry, MDAR stopped doing these uploads by late Aug. 2006.

Now MDAR has resumed essentially the same program, with a minor modification — MDAR sends the attached letter to the animal owners and gives them 45 or perhaps 30 days (note that the last few sentences of the letter give those 2 conflicting time periods) to “opt out,” otherwise MDAR sends their info in to the USDA database & the animal owners are assigned premises IDs. Also, note that the letter is dated Oct 30, 2007, but some MA animal owners report that by the time they receive the letter, they have only a few days to “opt out.”

Ben Grosscup & Jack Kittredge at NOFA Mass apparently just learned of this a day or so ago. I learned of it today when a NY resident forwarded the MDAR letter to me. Ben reports that MDAR has apparently sent this letter to all Mass residents who are identified as animal owners by the Mass annual animal census

HOUSE .......No. 757

By Ms. Gobi of Spencer, petition of Anne M. Gobi and others relative to the protection of sustainable farming. Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Anne M. Gobi
Denis E. Guyer
Todd M. Smola
Christine E. Canavan
Geraldo Alicea
Denise Provost
Stephen R. Canessa

PETITION OF:

Robert L. Rice, Jr.
Lewis G. Evangelidis
Barbara A. L’Italien
James B. Eldridge
Mary E. Grant
Ellen Story
Viriato Manuel deMacedo

In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE PROTECTION OF SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts finds the following:—
2 (A) This Commonwealth has entered into agreements with the
3 federal government of the United States, and otherwise may have
4 participated in establishing a National Animal Identification System
5 (hereinafter “NAIS”).
6 (B) Neither the United States Department of Agriculture nor the
7 Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (hereinafter
8 “MDAR”) has demonstrated any scientific findings that the NAIS
9 will prevent the spread of diseases of animal origin to humans or to

10 other animals, or will benefit animal or public health.
11 (C) Sustainable animal husbandry practices, which include ade12 quate space, appropriate feed, and access to pasture, fresh air and
13 sunlight are important in promoting animal health and thus pre14 venting the spread of diseases of animal origin.
15 (D) The establishment of NAIS is detrimental to small and sus16 tainable animal husbandry farming operations.

2 HOUSE — No. 757 [January 2007]

1 SECTION 1. Cooperative Agreement Termination.
2 MDAR shall withdraw any pending application for USDA NAIS
3 Cooperative Agreement funding for FY 2007; or, in the event that
4 the USDA already has granted funding and a Cooperative Agree5 ment for FY 2007 already has been executed, MDAR shall return
6 any FY 2007 funding to the USDA and rescind any existing Cooper7 ative Agreement for FY 2007.

1 SECTION 2. Citizens Data Upload Termination.
2 MDAR shall immediately cease sending data on the Common3 wealth’s citizens and animal premises to the USDA National
4 Premises Information Repository.

SECTION 3. Notification and Data Removal.
MDAR shall:—(a) immediately notify all citizens whose
premises information previously has been submitted to the USDA
National Premises Information Repository without their specific
authorization; and (b) develop a procedure with the USDA whereby
such Massachusetts data will be expunged from the USDA National
Premises Information Repository.

This Document Has Been Printed On 100% Recycled Paper.

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Premises Registration will be an "Official" USDA unique seven Character identifier.

In the New User Guide it states on Page 22:

The premises identification number (PIN) is assigned permanently to a geophysical location. If an owner or entity sells his/her farm, the next operators of the premises use the original premises identification number that had been
assigned to that location. If the seller buys a new location to build a new operation that never had livestock, he/she would register that location and obtain a new premises identification number (PIN).

Premises Identification = Encumbrance

Comments on the site are very welcomed.. If you see something that is in error, point it out, if you have a document that needs posting, provide the information and if its state specific post the state.. This site is for all livestock owners..