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Wayne Maloney (301) 734-7255
Jim Brownlee (202) 720-4623
USDA AND VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY HOST NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM INFORMATIONAL MEETING
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2007--Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently joined representatives from Historically Black Land Grant 1890s institutions, along with members of community-based organizations, state agriculture officials and producers to forge new partnerships to continue to implement the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
“One of the keys to the success of NAIS is the continued cooperation of organizations and individuals from across all levels of government, industry and higher education,” said Bruce Knight, undersecretary for USDA’s marketing and regulatory programs mission area. “NAIS works best when it is actively shaped by those who participate in the in program.”
The conference, held from May 16 through May 18 on the campus of Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va., gave participants the opportunity to not only learn more about NAIS, but to work together to develop and implement NAIS outreach strategies tailored to the needs of minority producers and communities.
This meeting was the first of several USDA intends to hold to provide NAIS education and outreach to representatives of minority groups. Another outreach event is being planned later this year to provide information to Native American groups and Hispanic representatives.
During the conference, APHIS also launched a new Web site designed to serve as a one-stop-shop of NAIS information for USDA’s Cooperative State, Research, Education, and Extension Service’s (CSREES) extension personnel and educators. APHIS developed the site, which includes a graphics library, archived presentations, factsheets and a link to the new NAIS premises registration outreach video, in conjunction with CSREES and extension personnel from across the country.
NAIS is a modern, streamlined information system that helps producers and animal health officials respond quickly and effectively to animal health events in the United States. The program, which is voluntary at the federal level, consists of three parts: premises registration, animal identification and tracing. So far more than 391,800 across the country have been registered as part of the program.
For more information on NAIS, please visit www.usda.gov/nais.
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