U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill on Friday praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its announcement that they will end the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).
McCaskill has long asserted that NAIS was an expensive and inefficient program that placed an undue burden on small producers in Missouri.
“Today’s announcement is a victory for Missouri’s small producers,” McCaskill said. “For years, I’ve opposed a mandatory national animal identification system because it would have been a huge burden on small producers without significantly improving food safety. It’s about time the USDA wised-up.”
During her 2006 campaign for Senate, McCaskill talked with producers across Missouri about how NAIS was negatively impacting their businesses. Since taking office three years ago, McCaskill has urged USDA repeatedly to scrap the program for the sake of small producers. USDA’s decision was based in part on information they heard from farmers and producers during a 15-stop listening tour across the country. Ahead of this tour, McCaskill encouraged Secretary Vilsack to include Missouri on its itinerary and on June 9, 2009, USDA representatives gathered feedback from Missourians in Jefferson City.