Earlier this week, R-CALF USA claimed a major win regarding animal ID because USDA retracted a memo regarding the administration of Premises Identification Numbers during USDA Animal Disease Program Activities.

While USDA may have retracted their original memo, R-CALF failed to note that  USDA issued a revised memo in its place according to Neil Hammerschmidt, Coordinator for the National Animal Identification System.     ...

While USDA continues to tout the National Animal ID System as a voluntary program, R-CALF USA claims USDA is taking steps to ensure that some livestock producers have no choice in the matter.

A Veterinary Services Memo dated September 22, 2008 called for premises registration for producers engaged in interstate commerce and who participate in any one of the 13 federally regulated disease programs—including brucellosis and scrapie. Three months after issuing that memo, USDA’s Veterinary Services cancelled it.

R-CALF USA sent a formal letter to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Veterinary Servic ...

USDA's latest quarterly hogs and pigs report estimates U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs as of December 1, 2008 was 66.7 million head. This was down 2 percent from both December 1, 2007 and September 1, 2008.

Breeding inventory, at 6.08 million head, was down 2 percent from last year but up slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 60.6 million head, was down 2 percent from both last year and last quarter.

The September-November 2008 pig crop, at 28.4 million head, was down 4 percent from 2007 but up 6 percent from 2006. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.99 million head, down 6 percent from ...