WASHINGTON (DTN) -- USDA will ask states and tribal nations to administer a system of animal identification to trace disease back to its source rather than continue development of a national animal identification system, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack told state agriculture commissioners Friday.

USDA's new livestock identification framework shifts responsibility to state governments. (DTN/The Progressive Farmer file photo)

This new system would be much simpler and cheaper than the proposed national system begun by the Bush administration after the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.S. in late 2003, Vilsack said in a speech to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. The new system would apply only to animal shipped across state lines.

After conducting 15 listening sessions at which producers complained about the national system, Vilsack said he concluded "we have to have a different approach."

Even though some meat industry officials and trade lobbyists have argued that a national system that covers every animal would reassure foreign buyers that U.S. meat is safe, Vilsack said he believes the new system will ultimately be more reassuring because it will have a higher rate of participation.

Bush administration Ag Secretary Ann Veneman initially proposed a mandatory system, but cattle ranchers reacted so negatively that the Bush administration backtracked and said the system would be voluntary and eventually mandatory.

But as Vilsack noted Friday, the Bush administration spent $120 million and convinced only 36 percent of animal producers to participate.

Both House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., have supported mandatory animal identification, but DeLauro became so frustrated over USDA's inability to complete the system that the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture appropriations bill severely restricted funding for the program.

DeLauro said in a statement that she was encouraged that USDA is formulating a detailed plan, but said, "I am concerned that we are moving from a single system capable of integrating and analyzing information across state lines to a collection of over 50 smaller systems that rely on different technology will be less effective for national animal disease surveillance and response efforts. As the federal agency receiving funds, designing and implementing the program, USDA needs to maintain accountability for a successful animal disease traceability system."

Vilsack said the new system "has got to be bottom up" and would be "federally supported but not federally led," an indication that USDA will make grants to the states and tribes to run the program.

The agriculture commissioners did not react immediately to Vilsack's proposal, but Edwin Porter, the deputy agriculture commissioner in Maine, said the commissioners would be pleased that USDA had taken a new direction. Porter noted that state agriculture department budgets are "getting slammed" with budget cuts and said the commissioners' long-term reactions may depend on how much money the federal government provides to run the system.

Vilsack did not use the word mandatory to describe the program, but said, "We have to have a system for interstate commerce." That statement could result in a negative reaction in western states that ship most of their cattle to other states for slaughter.

John Clifford, a deputy administrator at USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, who has worked on animal identification for years, told reporters the new system would allow states and tribes to use animal identification systems already in place to fight brucellosis, tuberculosis and other diseases and to use simple ear tags that cost producers pennies rather than proposed technology involving tags and readers that could cost several dollars per animal. Clifford said the rulemaking process could take two years, and he said it is too early to tell whether the federal government would install inspectors at slaughterhouses to make sure all animals in interstate commerce are tagged.

The leaders of two major U.S. livestock groups welcomed USDA's new livestock identification framework.

Bill Bullard, CEO of Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund-United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), a group that has been critical of the national animal identification system, said in a telephone interview that he was "very pleased by this announcement."

Bullard said USDA was reverting back to the system that has been successful in protecting the nation's cattle from brucellosis. He said he did not expect producers to oppose an identification system for interstate commerce because they must already furnish certificates for brucellosis.

USDA's decision shows the department has "shifted away from the international marketing goal and to the more legitimate goal of controlling diseases," Bullard said, calling the move "refreshing." Bullard also said that in a briefing with producer group leaders, Vilsack had said that USDA would also "strengthen" its border controls to make sure that diseases do not enter the country.

National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) President Steve Foglesong also praised the new ID framework.

"We appreciate Secretary Vilsack's commitment to addressing producers' concerns with animal ID," Foglesong said in a news release. "The plan appears to lay the foundation for a flexible approach to animal disease traceability, including greater state-involvement and choices in the use of technology.

"We encourage USDA to work closely with producers in the development of the framework moving forward. It's important that the system is workable for producers, and accomplishes the goal of increased animal surveillance by enabling state and federal animal health officials to respond rapidly and effectively to animal health emergencies," Foglesong said.

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jerry.hagstrom@telventdtn.com

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