SAMPLE LETTER :
Please personalize these comments! Include a personal story at the beginning of your comments so that it is less likely to be viewed as a form letter. The personalization can be just a few sentences, but it does make a significant difference .
Dear USDA Secretary Vilsack:
I am a __________________ (farmer, local foods consumer, backyard poultry owner, horse owner, etc.). I am very concerned that the proposed animal traceability rule will __________ (not be workable for my farm; impose costs on my farmers that will then be passed on to me; make it prohibitively expensive for me to order baby chicks from out-of-state hatcheries; etc.)
I urge the USDA to withdraw the proposed rule.
If the export market would benefit from the proposed rule, as the agency claims, then the meat packing companies that export meat should pay the costs and offer economic premiums to livestock producers to encourage them to participate in a voluntary system.
The agency's analysis does not address the full costs of the program, and this is a waste of money at a time when both private and government resources are already stretched thin. The proposed rule is an unfunded mandate on state agencies, private businesses, and individuals.
At the very least, significant changes need to be made:
- Apply the requirements to breeding-age cattle only and exempt feeder cattle from all new requirements.
Exempt all direct-to-slaughter cattle, both for custom and for retail sales. - Recognize the brand as "official identification" among and between all states that currently have official state brand programs and "official supplementary identification" for all other states.
- Do not impose any new requirements for identifying poultry. There has simply been no showing that imposing new requirements on small-scale poultry operations is needed, while it will definitely cause significant harm.
- Provide that a physical description qualifies as an official identification method for horses without having to be approved by the health officials in the receiving State or Tribe.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
City, State Zip
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