One of the many differences between the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill is Section 10305 and NAIS.  As passed by the Senate, Section 10305 directs the USDA to issue regulations to address "protection of trade secrets and other proprietary and/or confidential business information that farmers and ranchers disclose in the course of participation in" NAIS.  The House did not have any provision for NAIS in its version of the Farm Bill.

Take Action

Below is a list of the members of the conference committee.  Call or fax any member who represents your state.  Ask to speak to the staffer who handles agricultural issues.  If they aren't available, leave a message on their voice mail.
 
Message: I want Senator (or Representative) _____  to take Section 10305 out of the Farm Bill because it implies approval of USDA's implementation of NAIS.   Section 10305 also provides false reassurance that the information in the databases will be confidential, when experience has shown that information in databases is vulnerable to both hackers and marketing misuse.  I am opposed to any provision that moves NAIS forward in any way.  Except for the NAIS provision, I support the competition provisions in the Livestock Title.
 
Then have a conversation with the staffer.  Ask them the Congressperson's position on NAIS, and try to address the reasons they may support NAIS or why they're on the fence.  Give them personal stories about how NAIS will impact you and your community, along with solid facts about the flaws with NAIS.  Food safety is a big issue in Congress right now, so be sure you say that NAIS is not about food safety and there are better ways to protect our food supply. 
 
We can help provide follow-up information to address these issues - just email info@FarmAndRanchFreedom.org or call 866-687-6452.

Talking Points and More Information

Some reasons NAIS needs to be stopped, not encouraged:
    * There is no evidence that it will improve animal disease control
    * It will not increase food safety, because most food contamination happens at the slaughterhouses and processing plants.  NAIS will not increase our ability to trace or recall contaminated foods, either.  We need real reforms for food safety, not "feel good" programs like NAIS that won't actually address the problems.
    * It will cost billions of dollars that individual farmers and our economy cannot afford
    * USDA's implementation of the program, through funding of state programs, has resulted in fraudulent and coercive methods being used to increase registrations.
    * Regardless of whatever regulations are adopted, having the government or private entities compile this information leaves us open to harassment or worse by people who hack into that database or use the information for purposes other than what is intended.
 
For talking points on the competition provisions in the Livestock Title, go to http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/fb08conf.php

Be prepared: It is going to be very difficult to get Section 10305 taken out of the Farm Bill.  The legislators are negotiating provisions for billions of dollars of subsidies and programs.  Because Section 10305 addresses confidentiality, and does not directly mandate NAIS, many organizations and legislators simply don't see it as a priority.
 
An added complication is that Section 10305 is located within the Livestock Title. The Senate's Livestock Title contains many important provisions to increase competition in the livestock industry, which have been fought for by a broad coalition of producer and consumer groups.  Some of these groups don't want to risk the gains made in the competition provisions.  FARFA supports these competition provisions, but we think that it is important that the legislators deal with the bad apple hidden in the Livestock Title - namely, NAIS. 
 
So why are we urging you to call?  Because it's important to educate the legislators about the problems with NAIS at every opportunity.  The conference committee members also sit on the agriculture, agriculture appropriations, government oversight, and other important committees.  They will be in positions to help or hurt the anti-NAIS movement at many points in the coming year.  Calling now is also a preventative measure, to make sure that the committee members do not slip in a pro-NAIS provision.  Although putting in a new provision during conference is technically not allowed, it has been known to happen!  So please take a few minutes and call any of the committee members listed below who represent your state.

Members of the Farm Bill Conference Committee

Below are the conference committee members.  (p) is their phone number, (f) is their fax number.  All numbers are in the (202) area code.  You can contact them online by going to http://www.house.gov/  or http://www.senate.gov/ and clicking on the Representative's name (or Senators' state) in the top box to go to their website.
 
House Members from the Agriculture Committee & Leadership:
 
Joe Baca (D-CA), p: 225-6161, f: 225-8671
Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), p: 225-6131, f: 225-0819
Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), p: 225-4676, f: 225-5870
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), p: 225-3661, f: 225-4890
Adam Putnam (R-FL), p: 225-1252, f: 226-0585
David Scott (D-GA), p: 225-2939, f: 225-4628
Leonard Boswell (D-IA), p: 225-3806, f: 225-5608
Jerry Moran (R-KS), p: 225-2715, f: 225-5124
Collin C. Peterson (D-MN), p: 225-2165, f: 225-1593
Mike McIntyre (D-NC), p: 225-2731, f: 225-5773
Bob Etheridge (D-NC), p: 225-4531, f: 225-5662
Robin Hayes (R-NC), p: 225-3715, f: 225-4036
Frank Lucas (R-OK), p: 225-5565, f: 225-8698
Tim Holden (D-PA), p: 225-5546, f: 226-0996
Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), p: 225-4005, f: 225-9615
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), p: 225-5431, f: 225-9681
 
Senators on the conference committee:
 
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), p: 224-4843, f: 228-1371
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), p: 224-3521, f: 224-0103
Richard Lugar (R-IN), p: 224-4814, f: 228-0360
Charles Grassley (R-IA), p: 224-3744, f: 224-6020
Tom Harkin (D-IA), P: 224-3254, F: 224-9369
Pat Roberts (R-KS), p: 224-4774, f: 224-3514
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), p: 224-4822, f: 228-0325
Max Baucus (D-MT), p: 224-2651, f: 224-0515
Thad Cochran (R-MS), p: 224-5054, f: 224-9450
Kent Conrad (D-ND), p: 224-2043, f: 224-7776
Patrick Leahy (D-VT), p: 224-4242, f: 224-3479

Additional House conferees (these conferees  may or may not have any input on the Livestock Title, but they should still be educated on the NAIS issue):
 
Spencer Bachus (R-AL), p: 225-4921, f: 225-2082
George Miller (D-CA), p: 225-2095, f: 225-5609
Maxine Waters (D-CA), p: 225-2201, f: 225-7854
Howard Berman (D-CA), p: 225-4695, f: 225-3196
Brad Sherman (D-CA), p: 225-5911, f: 225-5897
Henry Waxman (D-CA), p: 225-3976, f: 225-4099
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), p: 225-8050, f: 225-3002
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), p: 225-3931, f: 225-5620
Jim McCrery (R-LA), p: 225-2777, f: 225-8039
John Conyers (D-MI), p: 225-5126, f: 225-0072
John Dingell (D-MI), p: 225-4071, f: 226-0371
Jim Oberstar (D-MN), p: 225-6211, f: 225-0699
Sam Graves (R-MO), p: 225-7041, f: 225-8221
Heath Shuler (D-NC), p: 225-6401, f: 226-6422
Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), p: 225-2611, f: 226-0893
Frank Pallone (D-NJ), p: 225-4671, f: 225-9665
Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), p: 225-5516, f: 225-5758
Edolphus Towns (D-NY), p: 225-5936, f: 225-1018
Nydia Velasquez (D-NY), p: 225-2361, f: 226-0327
Charles Rangel (D-NY), p: 225-4365, f: 225-0816
Jim Jordan (R-OH), p: 225-2676, f: 226-0577
Steve Chabot (R-OH), p: 225-2216, f: 225-3012
Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), p: 225-6511, f: 225-0764
Todd Platts (R-PA), p: 225-5836, f: 226-1000
Bart Gordon (D-TN), p: 225-4231, f: 225-6887
Nick Lampson (D-TX), p: 225-5951, f: 225-5241
Joe Barton (R-TX), p: 225-2002, f: 225-3052
Lamar Smith (R-TX), p: 225-4236, f: 225-8628
Michael McCaul (R-TX), p: 225-2401, f: 225-5955
Bobby Scott (D-VA), p: 225-8351, f: 225-8354
Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA), p: 225-2006, f: 225-3392
Nick Rahall (D-WV), p: 225-3452, f: 225-9061
Illinois Update
 
There is a rumor that the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is going to reverse its current policy of requiring premises registration for the fairs.  The IDOA will not confirm the rumor at this time, but says that there have been discussions.  If and when an announcement is made, we will post it on our website.
 
Even if the IDOA does reverse its current policy, it's important that we continue to urge the Senate to pass HB 5776.  This bill would prevent the IDOA from changing its mind again and requiring registration in the future.  And the bill includes a provision that allows anyone who has registered to withdraw from the program.  This is critical for the thousands of people who have already registered!
 
So call and ask your Senator to co-sponsor the bill.  You can look up who represents you at http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx?NavLink=1

You can get more information on what's happening in Illinois at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/illinois-2008
 
As always, we need your help to educate people across the country about NAIS.  Download materials from our Take Action page and put them out at local feed stores, riding stables, farmers markets, and so on.  And help support our work by becoming a member today.  We depend on membership dues and donations to fight to protect your rights.  Join now!
 
Working together, we can make our voices heard.

Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
1-866-687-6452
www.farmandranchfreedom.org