1984 comes to Animal Farm with ID scheme

The first reading of the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) Bill is a step towards establishing a costly new bureaucracy impacting lifestylers and farmers alike.

“Isn’t it ironic that on the day the Government opened its books, revealing a massive spending deficit, that a new and expensive bureaucracy was introduced as legislation,” says Lachlan McKenzie, Federated Farmers co-spokesperson on animal identification.

“The NAIT concept may sound reasonable to those outside of the farm gate but for those inside it, we know there’s traceability right now as that’s how we get paid.

“When I send my stock for processing I get paid on the weight and grade of those animals. This is a very accurate and effective system and milk products are similarly traceable right back to individual farms, by way of batch testing for quality and payment.

“While Federated Farmers work on NAIT has materially improved the overall concept, we still struggle to see how real on-farm value will be generated for many family run farms.

“Federated Farmers maintains that a voluntary NAIT-type solution using market principles is best. Starting in this way would iron out the inevitable kinks, reduce the considerable technological risks and give time for farm systems to adapt and evolve.

“NAIT should also leverage off the real-world experience of farmers overseas and that’s what we’ll be taking into the Select Committee.

“Farmers have also heard a marked shift in rhetoric. As originally conceived, NAIT was meant to add a premium price to our exports but has instead morphed into ‘protecting access’ into higher value markets.

“But if the processors paid a premium for tagged animals, then farmers would be all over it like a rash. Federated Farmers wishes to know which markets are demanding NAIT and exactly when?

“On-going costs also go far deeper than just tags. It comes on top of Emissions Trading Scheme related costs, ACC levies, the high dollar and of course, current drought-like conditions.

“In the debate last evening, biosecurity was used with abandon but if the Government truly believes in NAIT as a biosecurity tool, then it needs to tell our hard-pressed sheep farmers when it intends to put all cloven-hoofed animals into NAIT.

“Even lifestyle block owners will have to tool up for NAIT for the several hundred thousand livestock estimated to be living on such blocks and in our cities.

“NAIT’s compliance regime and charges will be a big focus for our submission.

“I must also note that while low frequency radio-frequency identification (LF-RFID) technology may be proven, is not much of an improvement over barcodes or visual tags.

“LF-RFID doesn’t offer the growth potential of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID and is a technological cul-de-sac. Let’s face it, the ice-box was proven technology in its day but the refrigerator proved to be somewhat superior,” Mr McKenzie concluded.

For more on Federated Farmers position on NAIT, as of January 2010, please click here.