National animal ID is heating up as various systems and government certification programs are starting to be implemented. In the dairy business there’s a new coalition of groups working together to create a system. One of those is iDAIRY of which Holstein Association USA is a founder.
Holstein Association USA, Inc. is a founding member of IDairy, the new coalition of six leading dairy industry organizations working to facilitate a national animal ID system.
“The Holstein Association believes there is an urgent need for a mandatory national animal ID system in the United States to allow the government to respond quickly and effectively to an animal health emergency,” said John M. Meyer, Chief Executive Officer of the Holstein Association USA, Inc.
Announced Thursday, October 6, 2005 at the World Dairy Expo, IDairy unveiled a three phase approach to secure the dairy industry’s role in the national animal ID system. The first phase is for all dairy and livestock producers to register their premises; the next step is for each animal to be identified and the final phase is the transfer of data from individual systems to a national database. The IDairy group hopes to have all dairy cows identified prior to the 2009 goal set by USDA.
Dairy and livestock producers can visit the newly launched IDairy website: www.idairy.org to complete the first phase of the coalition’s plan: registering all agricultural premises. The IDairy website is the industry’s source for the most up-to-date information about national animal ID and the founding organizations: Holstein Association USA, Inc., American Jersey Cattle Association, National Association for Animal Breeders, National Dairy Herd Improvement Association, National Milk Producers Federation and Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association.