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Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed a bill into law today that he says will ensure Missouri agriculture continues to thrive.
Senate Bill 931 is the first collective agriculture bill to pass the General Assembly in three years. Prohibiting the
Missouri Department of Agriculture from making the USDA National Animal Identification System mandatory and creating a program
to provide loan assistance for student veterinarians interested in large animal medicine are two key features.
An Open Letter to our elected officials Missouri House of Representatives, Missouri Senate, Governor Matt
Blunt
January 29, 2008 By Bob Parker, Texas County Missouri
Dear Legislators and Governor
Blunt,
As a very concerned cattle
producer in Missouri I am writing to voice my horror in what is happening on the Federal Level and in every State in this
Union. USDA along with Farm Bureau and Big Ag interests, as well as Technology companies such as Veri-chip and Digital Angel,
[See the membership list of NIAA] have conspired together to create the ultimate regulatory monster called The National Animal Identification
System, or NAIS. As a member of Missouri Farm Bureau I was horrified to see that Missouri Farm Bureau President Charles Kruse
sent a letter to USDA [July of 2005] saying that MOFB was supportive of a mandatory NAIS and that MOFB also supported the
NAIS program going mandatory, this letter said in part;
[ We believe a mandatory
Identification program will ultimately be necessary…] [all livestock species listed should be included…[29 species]
[The suggested timeline for implementing NAIS is realistic ] MOFB letter July 6,2005
Note; The latest Document
on NAIS, the 2008 NAIS business plan, states on page 41 that the 2005 NAIS draft plan that Mr. Kruse was commenting on “
remains the catalyst to achieve a uniform system nationwide and, on occasion, are added to.” In other words, the ’05
draft plan is still the foundation of NAIS.
Believe me, the last thing
Charles Kruse wants is for you and Farm Bureau’s members to know about this letter and their involvement in pushing
NAIS. Most members I know of that have seen this letter have left Missouri Farm Bureau. I was personally voted off my FB board
in Texas County before I could show my other board members this letter after speaking out about it. This letter does not involve
the grassroots, they didn’t even know about it or the details of NAIS and most still don’t! I was going to inform
the members of this at the annual meeting but was removed so that couldn’t happen. So much for grassroots!
To read more about the expulsion
go to;
http://henwhisperer.blogspot.com/2007/08/texas-county-missouri-farm-bureau.html
NAIS includes not only forcing
livestock owners to register their farms, thereby subjecting themselves to unwarranted searches of their farms by USDA, but
also tagging 29 species of animals with computer chips, some of which will be injected into the animal.
Additionally, NAIS will force
farmers to report 14 events within 24 hours with USDA via computer or call in. I want you to know that the members of MOFB
were never aware of the details of NAIS and MOFB has done everything in their power to cover-up the details of NAIS. I would
be glad to come in and personally show you the facts. I would welcome Charles Kruse to be there and have to explain what he
has done and how he has covered up the truth about NAIS to his membership. Mr. Kruse has sent letters to MOFB members saying
that I am misrepresenting the facts about NAIS, but he has never answered me as to specifically what I am saying that is untrue
or a misrepresentation.
Now you all have a letter
from MOFB signed by MOFB Charles Kruse, dated Jan 28 th 2008 opposing SB 931.
The letter states MOFB policy;
“We favor a voluntary (not a USDA or State Mandatory)…
I want to point out that
NAIS is currently being rolled into all existing MANDATORY Missouri Dept of AG animal health programs. Just ask Missouri State Vet Taylor Woods. He told me himself that NAIS is being rolled into existing Health programs.
The current cooperative agreement between USDA and MO Dept of Ag states on page 26 that premise numbers will be mandatory
for import and export of livestock, friends, that will not be voluntary! MOFB has never told its members that!! If they have,
where have they? Ask Leslie Holloway or Mr. Kruse for the documents where they told their members this. They do not represent
the heart and soul of Missouri livestock owners!
On page 26 it also states Premise
ID numbers will also be mandatory for all disease programs, Bovine TB, Brucellosis, Johne’s, Coggins testing, Scrapies,
…ALL PROGRAMS!! Remember, NAIS is not just Premise Registrations; it is tagging, chipping, and TRACKING! 48 hour trace
back! If you want to know how they intend to get 48-hour trace back you must understand what USDA and MOFB are proposing,
but proponents never tell anyone the details until it is too late! Ask MOFB to show you where they have ever showed their
members the details of what must be done to get 48-hour trace back! Ask Leslie Holloway for the documents. Ask Charles Kruse
for the documents where members are told the details and then want that in their policy. They can’t, and believe me,
they sure don’t want you to ask them for it. For the record, for two years I have begged them to tell their members
that full story about NAIS, as far as I know, they never have! As a legislator you must ask yourself is this leadership of
MOFB really representing their members interests? Honestly, how many farmers that you know would support this if they knew
these details I have mentioned? Any?
Farm Bureau mentions that they
are going to tell everyone how you vote on this. Your constituents may also have this letter. Which one will carry the most
weight? I have no doubt I am telling the truth here and that time will prove me right. NAIS will be implemented in just a
matter of months now. Just remember this letter after NAIS is implemented and your Farm community is devastated over the coming
years. Will you just do nothing? Will you just talk about saving the farm but do nothing when it really matters? We need you
to stop this now, not later. We are out of time…don’t let them tell you we can’t sell any livestock in the
future without NAIS. We have gone 200 plus years as a country with out NAIS. Believe me, we will do just fine without it…
Opponents of NAIS have had
over 22 meetings across Missouri in the last two years explaining the details of NAIS to the citizens of this great State.
We have 12,000 signatures on petitions opposing NAIS. I appeal to you in the strongest of terms. Before you listen to proponents
of NAIS, find out what is really happening with this program. I have asked at nearly every meeting how many oppose NAIS
after hearing the facts right out of the USDA documents. 99.9% say they do not want this program!
I have been in the livestock
industry all my adult life and also as a youth growing up on a farm. Never in my life have I seen a program that will devastate
small farms like NAIS will. The costs involved, the labor involved, the liability involved, the list goes on and on.
I have registered cattle and
a registered brand. I have always ID’d my cattle. I am proud of what I produce but I don’t want the government
coming on my property and fining me and my healthy cattle for lost ear tags or other areas of non-compliance with NAIS. USDA
already has disease protocol in place that have eradicated and controlled disease. These programs work. They will even
tell you that these programs have worked so well they have trouble tracing animals because we are so disease free. Don’t
let them tell you that we must have NAIS to survive, we can’t survive WITH NAIS as small producers.
This legislation, SB 931, will
help to keep NAIS from being implemented in Missouri. It must be addressed on the Federal level too. Maybe we will lose this
fight. Maybe we will have legislators that refuse to get the facts about NAIS before moving ahead. Maybe small farmers are
a thing of the past. Maybe the fight is too big. Maybe the program is too complicated for most to understand until it is too
late.
Maybe fascism and Big Government
will take over every aspect of our lives before long. Maybe every living thing will be chipped, tracked, and regulated. Maybe
the Federal and State Agencies really will take over America as our legislators relinquish their ability to govern with common
sense and wisdom. Maybe we will have to have a premise number and chip our animals and report all movements within 24 hours,
maybe we will have to have this number before we can buy or sell, maybe the principals that led our founding fathers are too
old fashioned for our modern world to understand anymore, maybe our Constitutional freedoms and rights of free exercise and
privacy and property rights are outdated, but so help me God, I will fight it until my last breath…
Sincerely,
Bob Parker
Raymondville, MO
417-457-6111 E-mail Bob@bakerealty.com
I will be glad to come and
testify at hearings anytime. I do ask however that sufficient time be given to explain this program. This cannot be explained
in the 5 minutes usually allowed. There are hundreds of pages of official documents on this program.
For more information about
Farm Bureau and NAIS go to
http://www.propertyrights.org/org-act/ED2707.htm
http://xstatic99645.tripod.com/naisinfocentral/id69.html
www.nonais.org
http://forums.news-leader.com/viewtopic.php?p=40081&sid
Posted 08-17-07
Texas County Farm Bureau Expels member over NAIS In Houston Missouri the debate over The National Animal
Identification System rages on. Tuesday, August 14th, 2007, the board met with about half of the board members
present. Board member Gerald Campbell, also past President of Texas County Cattlemen's Association and also
a director from District 3 of the Missouri Beef Industry Council Board of Directors, made a motion to remove
longtime Texas County Board member Bob Parker because of his outspoken opposition to the NAIS program.
Mr. Campbell, whose wife Nancy works for Farm Bureau, stated that Bob Parker had attacked Missouri Farm
Bureau and needed to be removed from the board. Mr. Campbell also stated that he had attended the Property
Rights Congress Meeting in Cabool a few days ago and stated that PRC president Russell Wood, speaker Doreen
Hannes, and speaker Ray Cunio, and Bob Parker had all attacked Missouri Farm Bureau for their promotion
of NAIS. Mr. Campbell's motion was seconded by Gus Adams, his wife Betty Adams is also Vice President of
the Property Rights Congress Chapter and both voted for Mr. Parker's removal. Mr. Parker repeatedly
asked specifically why the board was seeking to remove him. He was told by Mr. Campbell and Texas County
FB President Don Luersson that because of his open attack upon Farm Bureau that they wanted him removed.
Betty Adams charged that Mr. Parker had personally attacked Gerald Campbell at the PRC meeting by exposing
how he voted on a resolution supporting Mandatory NAIS. Mr. Parker stated that he believed the votes of
the Texas County Farm Bureau board should be open to it's members and the public. Mr. Campbell was invited
to sit on a panel discussion on NAIS at the PRC meeting but after a 10 minute opening statement Mr. Campbell
refused to answer any questions about NAIS or explain his statements. He stated that he had to leave for
a granddaughters birthday party and left the panel only to take a seat in the back of the meeting hall.
Mr. Parker asked the board several times specifically what the charges were against him and also stated
that the by-laws of Texas County Farm Bureau did not provide for removing a member in this were going to
do it anyway. No specific charges were ever given. Mr. Parker said he would be glad to respond to any specific
charges and would gladly show anyone why he has been very vocal about his opposition to what the leadership
of MOFB has done, citing specifically a July 2005 letter where MOFB President Charles Kruse told the USDA
that Missouri Farm Bureau supported NAIS and that the full program should ultimately be Mandatory. Mr. Parker
continues to contend that MOFB grassroots members have never said that in their policy. Mr. Parker believes
that the leadership in MOFB has been in full support of a mandatory program in the past and doesn't trust
the leadership anymore. Mr. Parker states ''I have pointed out what the leadership of
MOFB has done, and they are continuing to cover up how this ''voluntary' ' program will
become ultimately
Mandatory! Did you know that most
marketing programs and all animal health programs
are requiring a NAIS
premise number? How will that
be ''voluntary''? Why doesn't MOFB point that out to
their members? Why is
no opposition to NAIS ever
invited to speak to the resolutions committee's? I
could go on and on. Why did
Mr. Kruse stop a meeting
in Springfield when I asked about his letter? He
doesn't want you to know about
it, they had to get
me out, this information is starting to cost them
alot of money, and members.''
I have repeatedly asked leadership in MOFB to tell
the members the facts about NAIS. They have flatly
refused.
This is too huge of an issue to ignore, I
firmly believe that if NAIS is fully implemented it
will wipe out most
small farmers, this is for 29
species, not just cattle!'' Mr. Parker continues,
''when I told Mr. Campbell
last year about how small
farmers would not do all the work that these
regulations would impose he told
me that we don't
need all those small producers anyway, he said and I
quote, ''what good are they doing
for the
industry?'' He also voted that NAIS should be
Mandatory when our board voted on it Tuesday, March
14th,
2006 by voting against it. The resolution
stated;
Be it hereby resolved that the Texas County Farm
Bureau
Board Does hereby reject the current proposal
by USDA to make mandatory the implementation of the
National
Animal Identification System.
I think that FB members should know what their
leaders
really think about NAIS and I also believe
that Cattlemen should know what their Missouri Beef
Council leaders
are saying and doing.''
The majority vote was in favor of removing Mr.
Parker immediately from the
board. Two members, Dan
Kyle and Robert Rouse voted against the motion. Mr.
Parker goes on '' I have tried
to expose Farm Bureau
leadership for what they have done. It comes as no
surprise that this happened, I
could never explain
the details of what has happened to my board because
of constantly being attacked by
Gerald Campbell and
President Don luersson at the meetings. Missouri
Farm Bureau's membership is off about
10% in many
areas in the State due to members learning about
what Farm Bureau has done. They are very upset
over
that.
Mr. Parker ''I have never told anyone to leave MoFB.
have tried to work to change the
organization for
the better. I believe in the grassroots structure
but the leadership controls all the information
that
the members get. Farm Bureau has never printed
anything about why so many oppose this NAIS program.
Now
I strongly encourage every member to drop Farm
Bureau! Drop your membership! Drop your insurance!
Drop your
support, and send a strong message to MOFB
that this leadership must be changed before you
support this
organization any more''.
''I thought one of the founding principals of our
country was freedom
of speech, not in Farm Bureau,
not anymore. You can be a grassroots member, as long
as you don't expose
leadership. I guess the facts
speak for themselves. Don't be fooled by the new
rhetoric from the leadership
of Missouri Farm Bureau
saying they oppose mandatory NAIS, they know that
very soon NAIS will be involved
in so many programs
we will never keep it ''Voluntary'', regardless of
their ''policy''. The days of
Free Farmers will soon
be over, sold out by the very people we trusted''.
For immediate release;
contact
information; Bob Parker Bob@bakerealty.com
Permission given to send as far and wide as you can
NAIS UPDATE #5
AN OPEN LETTER TO MISSOURI FARM BUREAU MEMBERS
[I know this is long, but if
you care about MOFB,
you need to read it]
The leadership of Missouri Farm Bureau continues to
keep
it's General Membership in the dark about the
facts surrounding NAIS, The National Animal
Identification
Program. I have included a letter
that I sent to Dan Cassidy, Executive Director of
MOFB over a year ago
in May 17th of 2006. This is
just one of several E-mails and conversations I have
had with Missouri Farm
Bureau President Charles
Kruse, MOFB legislative staff, State Board members
and others. Having been a Texas
County Board member
for approximately 15 years and going to many annual
meetings I have gotten to know the
staff and
workings of MOFB pretty well.
I want to make this perfectly clear, MOFB has done
alot
of good things in the past. I understand the
workings of policy development in this organization
but as
we all know it is very important for members
to get all sides to an issue and hear from
proponents as well
as opponents to develop good
policy. I think we all know what is happening to our
country with the media
bias and not hearing a fair
and balanced reporting. Please read on and listen to
what has happened, then
you decide...
I have read closely the publications from MOFB as
well as other Ag publications. In January
of 2006 I
read the 2005 Draft plan of the NAIS program. I was
shocked!! I immediately contacted MOFB and
asked
them to make this information available to it's
members. I was told by Garrett Hawkins [Director of
MOFB
legislative affairs] that all of this had been
covered in MOFB publications and sent me a copy of
every
article MOFB had printed on it. I read them
all and did not find any of the details that were
horrifying
to me such as the use of the word
''Mandatory'' being used over 20 times, several uses
of ''Mandatory
with enforcement'', also, this
included 29 species, not just cattle, and that the
program is for 48
hr trace back and requires
reporting 14 ''events'' within 24 hours!! Wow!
I asked Mr. Hawkins where
specifically these
details were mentioned. He couldn't say. He referred
me to Leslie Holloway, she said
there were two
articles that referred to some of what concerning
me. When I asked her specifically where
in those
articles it was, she couldn't find anything. She
then said she was too busy with other matters
to
work on this anymore. Wow! I was shocked! I was
uncovering a side of MOFB I had never seen!I had
thought
MOFB members would want to know all that and
that MOFB leadership would be glad to tell
them...how wrong
I have been!
Now MOFB is quietly telling it's County Board
Members in a series of Regional Meetings
across the
State not to listen to Bob Parker and others who
have worked to inform the public about this
horrible
program. They are not however, telling their board
leaders the following information at these regional
meetings
that includes the following;
a.. Several States are already going ''Mandatory''
with NAIS!
b..
Missouri Dept of Ag is taking over $500,000 to
implement the 2005 draft plan!
c.. Premise registration is
just the 1st phase of
NAIS, then tagging with computer chips, then
tracking!
d.. Still no projections
on the true cost of this
program. [Australia cost is about $70 per head]!
e.. American Farm Bureau helped
write NAIS
starting in 1994 and even before that, contrary to
MOFB stating that this program is because
of 911 and
started in 2002.
f.. Your premise, once registered, can not be
removed from what MOFB
calls a ''voluntary''
program. You can be put on inactive, but not taken
out of the system currently.
Why don't they want you
to know that?
g.. Why were no opponents of NAIS invited to speak
at the
resolution hearings on NAIS when it was well
known there was lot's of opposition to this. I
personally had
informed the leadership on this as
well as others.
h.. Why has MOFB never printed or talked about the
specific
reasons that so many are opposing this
program so it's members can decide???? [Note; in
2006, at meeting
in West Plains, 300 people came to
the meeting opposing Animal ID. Garrett Hawkins was
there. Many reasons
were given why they opposed
NAIS. The MOFB newsletter made a small note about
the meeting that some opposition
to NAIS was
present. To read current MOFB publications you would
not think that NAIS is even a hot issue
in
Missouri!!!!!]
i.. FFA has taken grant money to register farms
for NAIS
j.. 4-H
clubs in some states are forcing kids to
register their farms to be members such as Colorado!
a.. Why
did our legislation trying to stop NAIS in
Missouri gain so much support? The reason is that we
spent alot
of time giving the facts of the program
right out of the USDA documents to our legislators.
93% of the legislators
voted against NAIS only to be
killed by Rep. John Quinn by him refusing to allow
it to come back for a final
vote which would have
easily stopped this program at the state level. MOFB
was there twisting every arm
they could to keep NAIS
alive in Missouri.
b.. Why doesn't MOFB put what they are saying at
Regional
Meetings about me and others in their
publications? I welcome an open debate on this. Let
the leadership
of MOFB try to defend what they have
done after the facts are known.
c.. Do the members know that President
Kruse wrote
a letter to USDA in full support of NAIS
representing all the members of MOFB and supporting
the
Mandatory timelines in the 2005 draft plan in
spite of the fact that MOFB has never had a
''Mandatory''
policy? I brought this up at a Farm
Bureau meeting in Springfield Mo this Spring to
Charles Kruse and the
meeting was immediately ended
allowing me no further comments or questions to Mr.
Kruse. I welcome public debate
in MOFB on this
issue.
d.. As a voting delegate at last years Annual
meeting you may ask, ''why didn't
Bob Parker come
and debate this on the floor''? The reason is that
my county President, after consultation
with the
head office, called Texas County Board members
personally lining up delegates and left me out.
That
is how this grass roots organization is being run.
Call a Texas County delegate and ask them how they
were
chosen.
MOFB is currently crying about how the legislature
has abandoned the farmer and MOFB. The reason
the
Legislature has abandoned MOFB is they know what
MOFB leadership has been doing. The current MOFB
leadership
is completely doing the bidding of Big Ag
and has forgotten the small farmer. Nothing out
there proves this
more than the way MOFB has handled
NAIS. As I talked to Legislators in Jefferson City
this year I was shocked
at what legislators said
behind closed doors about MOFB and what the MOFB
leadership had done over the last
few years. I was
deeply saddened. I have spent years supporting this
organization and the wonderful members
that is has.
MOFB sent a letter to many County Boards in 2006
telling them not to listen to the opposition
and
myself about NAIS, that we were not telling the full
story.
MOFB said in their letter
that I was insulting the
membership of MOFB. I want to clearly respond to
that and say my desire has been
for the wonderful
folks that are members in this organization to be
fully informed on a huge government
program that I
believe will be devastating to small farmers. I care
very deeply about what happens to farmers
and will
do everything in my power to help them understand
the complex issues they are now facing. I believe
that
once members get the full story they will reach
the right decisions. Sadly, they are not getting
that now.
In closing, I want to make the following points;
a.. I fully support the concept of MOFB in it's
grass
roots structure. It can work very well and
should. Members must demand that the leadership
tell them all
sides of issues so that good policy
can result.
b.. I believe the current leadership in MOFB can
no
longer be trusted. We need a complete house
cleaning in this organization so we can recover our
respect
with the legislators and farmers in
Missouri.
c.. This is not a personal attack on anyone. I
have
simply been trying to get the facts out about
this program and to my utter amazement have hit a
brick wall
with leaders that should be helping. I am
still amazed!
d.. I sincerely ask you to look into this. I know
I
am not perfect, and maybe my tactics are not
always right. Please understand that there are
hundreds of
pages of Documents on NAIS from the
USDA. I know most folks to not take the time to
study all of these,
but please read the 2005 Draft
Strategic Plan on NAIS and the Technical Supplement.
Now read the 2007 working
agreement that the
Missouri Department of Agriculture has with USDA and
they have agreed to implement the
2005 draft plan.
Read it for yourself. Remember the group in the
Bible that read the word every day so they
wouldn't
be deceived to make sure they were being told the
truth? Study to show yourself approved unto God....
e..
In August of 2005 MOFB wrote a letter to each
County Board stating the following; ''Opponents of
NAIS continue
to use outdated materials and personal
opinions to mislead producers and others''. Myself
and others have
asked Dan Cassidy specifically what
materials he was talking about. We stated we have
been using the following
documents.
f.. April 2005 draft plan,
g.. April 2005 draft standards,
h.. April 2005 draft Technical
Supplement,
i.. June 2006 Strategies for implementation
j.. Transcript of Secretary Johannes April 6, 2006
News
Conference.
k.. [note, there are many new documents since this
was written]
Dan Cassidy has never
responded to our questions
about specifically what we are saying wrong. This
has led to the only conclusion
that can be reached
in my mind. The leadership of MOFB really is just
supporting BiG AG because they can
give nothing to
back up what they have been doing and saying. This
is why they have lost support and trust
in Missouri.
Again, this leadership does not represent the best
interest of Missouri small farmers in my
opinion and
that is abundantly clear to me after many months of
trying to get them to tell the full story.
Here's my last point, when you understand how this
so called ''Voluntary'' program really works, you
will
understand why it will ultimately be
''mandatory''. Please give the opposition to NAIS a
seat at the
next resolutions hearings and I will be
glad to talk to you more about it. The following is
an the E-mail
I sent to Dan Cassidy, Executive
director of Mo FB in May of 2006. I want everyone to
realize that if they
would have listened, much of
this could have been avoided. I sincerely tried to
avoid this, but the money
and power behind NAIS is
unbelievable!
Sincerely,
Bob Parker, Texas County Farm Bureau
Board Member
My home phone number is 417-457-6111 call me if you
have any questions.
[Note]
In this months minutes of Texas County Farm
Bureau monthly Board meeting they state the
following;
''A recent E-mail sent out by Bob Parker with
negative comments about MOFB and President Charles
Kruse was
discussed. There was much discussion about
the situation with Bob and his representing himself
as a Farm
Bureau Board member. A vote was taken on
whether to dismiss him immediately or let his term
expire and not
ask him to serve another term. Vote
to let his term expire was six, dismiss was two. The
general consensus
was that to let his term expire
would cause less confrontation.''
I was not at this meeting personally
as I had other
business. If the membership of Texas County decides
they don't want me on the board that
is up to them.
I guess people really do like to shoot the
messenger. The only thing is, how can Farm Bureau
really
be a viable organization when it eliminates
folks that speak out? Just remember what I have said
here, if
we fail to stop NAIS . When you are buying
your expensive electronic tags, getting online to
report where
your livestock are in 24 hours, and
having USDA officials searching you home and grounds
for any violations
of NAIS on you healthy animals,
or when it is discovered that the data bases have
been stolen, or you are
being called by an attorney
because a sick animal has your ID on it that has
been tampered with to make
it look like you own it,
or, when you try to get your kids or grandkids to
take over your livestock operation
after they have
seen how the government has taken over farming, just
ask yourself. Am I still FREE?
Remember; We have best food in the world! We have
disease specific programs that work very well
already,
why do we need NAIS? Please don't let them
tell you we must have NAIS to market beef! NAIS is a
48 hour
traceback program, NOT a marketing program!
My letter to Dan Cassidy
Please note the date!
Dan Cassidy
Executive Director of Missouri Farm Bureau
May 17th of 2006
Dan,
Good
to hear from you. I am getting pretty
frustrated with this. I have asked that facts about
the draft plan
and the many concerns being voiced by
State Senators, State Reps, Property Rights Groups
and others be included
in Missouri Farm Bureau
publications and as of yet the only information
being put out is the spin from the
group composed
mainly of big Corporate companies that will directly
benefit from the ID plan. Why has Missouri
Farm
Bureau continued to refuse to print the facts on
this issue??????
Most folks
that have heard the other side of this
story are rapidly changing there mind when there is
an open debate
about the issues. If you guys
continue to just put out one side it will be very
hard to come up with a good
policy on this issue.
The brief time available on the floor during our
annual meeting will make it very
hard to cover all
the aspects of this very lengthy and complicated
issue. Leslie and Garrett have both heard
many
reasons for opposing the animal ID plan but none of
those objections have ever made it to print.
Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization. The only
way this works is for the grassroots to have all the
information
about both sides of these issues. What
you guys are now printing in Show Me Missouri and
the Capitol connection
is spin and I can prove it
to you and others. The Senate and House do not
support Mandatory ID and Missouri
Farm Bureau has
not mentioned one reason why.
You have plenty of reason to oppose this as Cost,
confidentiality,
and liability have never been
addressed and never will because this thing will
cost in the billions before
it is over.
Please forward this to Charlie and the whole board.
It's time the folks that really
run Farm Bureau
start hearing from the grassroots on this issue.
I have included the conclusions from
Sec. Johannes
meeting transcript below. He says no more
legislation is required to go mandatory with this
program
and that if we don't have 100% participation
then it will be mandatory. You guys need to start
printing
the TRUTH about this issue and not a bunch
of crap!!
I want to do everything I can to support Farm
Bureau
but by you guys continually misrepresenting
the facts about this forces me to take this to the
grassroots
myself which I am doing. I was on Ky3 TV
in Springfield last week 3 times, Derry Brownfield
for an hour
last week, have 3 meetings coming up
across Missouri that I am speaking at and my words
will not be kind
to Farm Bureau unless something
changes fast. When are you guys going to take me and
others seriously??
This is the biggest threat to my
farming operation that I have ever seen. I probably
won't need Farm Bureau
if this passes as I won't
have a farm because of the added costs of these
extremely burdensome regulations
as well as many
other factors. I will gladly send you additional
information about all the reasons. I won't
be a
party to this program as it stands.
Time is running out.....
Sincerely,
Bob Parker, member of Texas County Farm Bureau
Board
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