VoteKansas.org

Our dairy goat herd is on standard milk test. We use a computer software program called PC-DART on the farm. This program is an on-line system tied to the Heart of America DHIA lab in Manhattan that processes our monthly milk samples. It is a total dairy management program but primarily gives us almost instant access to our monthly milk test results. Recently we attended a workshop in Lawrence to get updates on this software program and learn more about how to use it to it's fullest potential. During this workshop there was a pretty good discussion on NAIS. The presenter was from the Dairy Records Processing Center [DRPC] in Ames, Iowa, which is also tied to the PC-DART program. The presenter used a power point to demonstrate how cattle dairies could benefit from the NAIS. It showed a dairy farmer going along in front of the milk stanchions in his milk barn waving a wand over the ears of his cows as they were being milked. This wand/transponder/readers [much like the one you see the UPS driver use when he delivers packages to you, only much bigger and longer] gathered information and sent the information wireless to a small pocket computer being carried by the farmer. Then after each animal's Radio Frequency Identification Tag [RFID] had been scanned, the small pocket computer was taken to the office and connected to the larger computer and downloaded into it. The information is then sent on-line to the Dairy Records Processing Center [DRPC] in Ames. Iowa. Ostensibly, this information is sued by the DRPC for things like removing a cow from their production list/records/system when she is sold or dies, etc. so the DRPC won't be carrying her in the system as a dry cow. In other words, its a kind of on-going way to keep records instantly and accurately updated.

Now that all sounds pretty good until they put the forms on the screen and show you that they have added a box for NAIS notification. It is not yet a requirement in Kansas but in Pennsylvania you cannot sell an animal with out "premise identification" number. You also have to notify the state veterinarians office of the animal movement, regardless of the reason for the movement. It was explained that the DRPC has the information and it is "just a push of the button to send it on to the Penn. State Vet's office"
who is responsible for maintaining the data base. It was explained that it is not expensive because they are already collecting the information for individual farm management purposes and again, "it is just a push of the button to send it on to Pennsylvania."
In answer to the question about how do they get information from those farms that are not on the PC-DART program and not no dairy test? The answer, well its just voluntary for now and but when it becomes mandatory in Kansas the farmer/animal owners will be individually responsible for their own reporting which, obviously, will be expensive and time consuming, an din violation of your privacy rights.

The other thing we learned at the DHIA workshop is that the wand/transponder/readers and pocket PC, both needed to make the RFID tag system work, cost a total of about $1,100 or more. It was mentioned that just think they are universal so they can be used at goat shows, slaughter houses, etc. Then they passed around two samples of RFID ear tags. Some concern was expressed that the size of the part that punctured the ear could cause excessive bleeding and infection. We were told to move it around and try to avoid the big blood veins. The tags were huge, way too big for a goat's ear.

In addition to the extra work involved and the expense of about $3.50 per heard for the RFID tags, the data seems to be collected and sent on to the data base without the knowledge or consent of the animal owner or notifying him that his individual privacy rights might be violated in the process.