“ID•INFO EXPO was an effort that the National Institute for Animal Agriculture put in place to educate our livestock industry about animal identification and how this applies to our industry in the United States,” said Robert Fourdraine, co-chair of the event and chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium.

Fourdraine says this year NIAA has expanded the program for the Expo to be more about traceability.  “So, it’s not focused just on disease programs and the need for animal identification.  We’re going to be talking about country of origin labeling, value-added programs and branding of products all relative to having traceability of animals and animal products.”

Bruce Knight, U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, who is responsible for various aspects of animal ID and traceability, will deliver a summary keynote address during the last session of the event on Thursday morning.

“If you have any interest in animal identification and traceability, you need to be in Kansas City next week for ID•INFO EXPO 2007,” says Robert Fourdraine, co-chair of the event scheduled for August 28-30 at the Westin Crown Center.   

“Go to www.animalagriculture.org, and click on the Schedule of Events for this year’s ID•INFO EXPO and you’ll see what Robert means,” says co-chair Glenn Fischer.
 

“Take a look at our opening day,” Fischer urges.  “We start with opening remarks by Scott Stuart, chairman of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s Board of Directors, followed by the chief implementer of the U.S. National Animal Identification System (NAIS), Dr. John Clifford, Deputy Administrator of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Veterinary Services, on traceability from an animal disease perspective.  

With the breaking news that foot and mouth disease (FMD) has been discovered once again in the United Kingdom, organizers of ID•INFO EXPO 2007 have made FMD and the need for an animal identification system in the U.S. a key topic of the opening general session of Tuesday, August 28 at 1:00 PM. 

Sponsored by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA), ID•INFO EXPO 2007 will be held in Kansas City at the Westin Crown Center Hotel, August 28-30.  

“The FMD portion of the program will begin with a report from England on the very latest developments there from dairy industry leader Raymond Brown,” says program co-chair Glenn Fischer.  “Mr. Brown’s operation of 220 cows is in Cheshire in Northwest England approximately 130 miles for where the current outbreak has occurred,” according Fischer. 

Mr. Brown’s operation has been awarded the National Dairy Herd and National Dairy Farm award on several occasions.  He also serves as a board member of the National Farmers Union and the National Dairy Board.  

“He’ll be able to tell us what is being done to manage the situation with an eye towards rapidly resuming normal commerce, a strong contrast compared to the disastrous situation that occurred in 2001,” states Fischer.

“As the administration official with his ‘hands on the most animal identification levers at USDA’ the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Bruce Knight, is the ideal person to be one of the last keynote speakers on the agenda of ID•INFO EXPO 2007,” states Robert Fourdraine, program chair.  

The event will be held at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City August 28-30.  Mr. Knight is scheduled to speak Thursday, August 30.

“Mr. Knight has responsibility for three key areas involving animal traceability—the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and the Grain Inspection & Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA),” points out Fourdraine.  

While the program extends well beyond the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), the latest on that initiative will still be a key element of ID•INFO EXPO 2007 as Dr. John R. Clifford, the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Veterinary Services (USDA/APHIS/VS) outlines the recent NAIS developments and policies.    

Dr. Clifford will be joined by a panel of experts in General Session II, Tuesday afternoon, August 28, including Ron Axelson of the Canadian Livestock Identification Agency, as they and others provide a general overview of current and planned regulatory and industry systems that provide disease, marketing and food safety traceability programs.  Their discussion will cover what these systems mean to producers and how these programs can be made compatible across North America.