Olympia-A productive meeting with Senate Agricultural Chairwoman Rasmussen was held today. Senator Rasmussen brought up some important issues regarding SB 5753 that needed to be addressed. The issues discussed with the Senator included documentation of existing laws on the books addressing animal disease, clarification that NAIS is not just for cattle (Cooperative Agreement between USDA/WSDA was shared); information on the collection of data involuntarily from residents of Washington, with followup correspondence from the WSDA refusing purging of collected data; a briefing on local small farmers being pro-active in disease management practices, ongoing agricultural education, and environmental concerns. Senator Rasmussen, herself, said that she did not want to identify her animals.
I will be soon be posting the Senate Agricultural Committee members so that you can respectfully and politely share your concerns about the NAIS scheme.
From the trenches,
Celeste
Categories: Legislative Issues · Uncategorized
Olympia-Dr. Leonard Eldridge and Public Document Specialist Ms. Danny McQueen have agreed to turn over Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) documents regarding National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and its components. The agreement was reached last Tuesday after several long an intense meetings.
After receiving two installments of Public Disclosure records it was apparent that not all documents had been provided as requested. There were some slightly different interpretations of what documents should be included and this issue has been resolved.
We have requested notification of when the documents will be ready for inspection and expect the WSDA to expedite the request promptly.
From the trenches,
Celeste
Categories: Uncategorized
Olympia- It has been confirmed by our attorney, Robert McGuire of Colorado, that the USDA in Washington DC will be shipping the first installment of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents on NAIS before the end of is week.
This will aide us greatly in our understanding of NAIS and how we might engage our Legislators to embrace NoNAIS proposed legislation and terminate all plans to proceed with the NAIS scheme. We expect to receive two installments.
From the trenches,
Celeste
Categories: Legislative Issues
Agricultural Chairman Brian Sullivan has scheduled a hearing for HB 1151, NoNAIS, on February 21, 2007 at 8:00 AM at the O’Brien Building. Stay tuned for the Hearing Room.
We thank the Chairman for scheduling this hearing.
February 21, 2007 is Agricultrual Day.
Celeste
Categories: Legislative Issues · Uncategorized
