The forum on which we must fight the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is shifting again. New, serious efforts to establish a mandatory NAIS are afoot in Washington under the Farm Bill. Many state efforts have wound down. Let’s take stock and look at what we’ve learned so far this year from the state fights, and then apply them to opposing NAIS in Washington.

• The States
• Battles Ahead

What It Takes to Win
To win our battle against NAIS we must be numerous and relentless.

Numerous—Organizations such as Farm Bureau can claim they represent thousands of farmers. They do this with the slight of hand Farm Bureau uses: It has thousands of members, even though it neglects to point out that a minority of those members are farmers. Yet state and federal legislators believe Farm Bureau is the voice of agriculture.

If we are to win, we must join organizations that are firmly against NAIS, so when they speak to legislators they, too, can say they represent thousands of NAIS opponents. Online communities are important for organizing, but legislators will respond to on-ground organizations such as FARFA, Liberty Ark Coalition, R-Calf, South Dakota Stock Growers, and others like them that work relentlessly on the NAIS issue. Belonging to one or more of these organizations will ensure you get information on legislation quickly—within a day’s time.

Once you find an anti-NAIS organization to support, consider contributing money. Pro-NAIS forces have millions of dollars at their disposal. Getting out the word, printing posters, and bringing people to legislative hearings all costs money. Even a small donation can go a long way, if everyone who opposes NAIS contributes.

Relentless—We must not stop. When you receive an alert, write or call your legislators. Do it immediately. Take 30 seconds to make a phone call and say, “I oppose Bill Number XXX. I’m against the government participating in NAIS in any way.” A letter costs $.41, while phone calls are only $.10 a minute, so if you have a phone, make that call.

Timing is important. With the Farm Bill moving forward, don’t delay your calls and letters. You needn’t contact only your own representatives; if your state has representatives or senators on a committee that controls a NAIS bill, contact those Congressmen. And call the chairman of a committee controlling a bill. Call early and often. Farm Bureau, NCBA, and other pro-NAIS organizations have lobbyists visiting legislators regularly, sometimes daily. We can and must create the same presence.

Every time you write or speak to legislators, if you belong to Farm Bureau, American Quarter Horse Association, or others that support NAIS, point out that those organizations did not consult their members when they decided to support NAIS and you don’t agree with them. Convince your neighbors and friends to call and write. Be the burr under the legislators’ saddle. Make your presence known. Write your local newspaper repeatedly. Go to hearings.

Take time. We farmers tend to stay home and stick to ourselves, but we must make our presence known. Take the time now, even if it means leaving your farm, or else in the future you may not have a farm to leave.

Karin Bergener of Ravenna, Ohio, is an attorney and co-founder of Liberty Ark Coalition. This article appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Rural Heritage.