NAIS system will hurt industry competition

Inherent to every competitive industry is proprietary information. If one competitor gains access to the proprietary information of another, then any competitive advantage associated with that proprietary information is at best lost. At worst, the acquirer of that proprietary information could use it to eliminate competitors. Nowhere in the U.S. economy is proprietary information more important to ensuring competitiveness than in the multi-segmented live cattle industry and beef industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Identification System, however, would grant the four largest meatpackers access to proprietary information held by the thousands of U.S. auction yards and video auctions, as well as cattle feeders. NAIS requires every cattle producer to affix a 15-digit identifier on each animal, which associates each animal to the “premises” of the farmer or rancher who raised the cattle and who sells them to feedlot owners through such markets. NAIS will reduce, if not eliminate, competition in the U.S. cattle and beef industries by granting meatpackers access to proprietary information now held by those markets and feedlots, via the 15-digit identifier. Here’s how: ...AgWeek