ID INFO EXPO 2009 To Explore Viable Alternatives For Functional Animal Identification

As the debate rages about animal identification in the United States, ID INFO EXPO 2009 will explore the challenges facing a national animal identification program and ways to move animal identification forward. ID INFO EXPO 2009, presented by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture, is set for Aug. 25-27 at the Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, Mo. “ID INFO EXPO will provide a collaborative atmosphere in which concerns and solutions can be addressed in order to enhance animal identification,” states Glenn Fischer, chairman of the ID INFO EXPO Planning Committee. “Based on comments received at USDA Secretary Vilsack’s listening sessions regarding animal ID, we know what won’t work; this conference will focus on what can work.” Victor Velez, vice chairman of the Planning Committee, emphasizes that the conference will zero in on four key areas: 1) the current state of, and need for, animal identification in the United States; 2) the obstacles to gaining ID participation; 3) the ID opportunities that exist; and 4) the next crucial steps to developing a functional animal identification program in the United States. The EXPO’s opening general session will start with an up-to-the-minute report on the status of animal identification programs in the United States and outline what full participation in animal ID could mean to animal agriculture. Other opening general session topics include global implications of identification and models of traceability within other commodities and industries...cattlenetwork