National Animal Identification System; Updated Program Standards, 68554-68555 [E7-23524]

Download as PDF 68554 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 5, 2007 / Notices mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES horticulture, viticulture, apiary, and forest products and processed or manufactured products derived from such commodities. Reflecting the growing diversity of U.S. agriculture, in recent years, FSMIP has funded projects dealing with nutraceuticals, bioenergy, compost, and products made from agricultural residues. Proposals may deal with barriers, challenges, or opportunities manifesting at any stage of the marketing chain including direct, wholesale, and retail. Proposals may involve small, medium, or large scale agricultural entities but should potentially benefit multiple producers or agribusinesses. Proprietary proposals that benefit one business or individual will not be considered. Proposals that address issues of importance at the State, regional or national level are appropriate for FSMIP. FSMIP also seeks unique proposals on a smaller scale that may serve as pilot projects or case studies useful as a model for other States. Of particular interest are proposals that reflect a collaborative approach among the States, academia, the farm sector and other appropriate entities and stakeholders. FSMIP’s enabling legislation authorizes projects to: • Determine the best methods for processing, preparing for market, packing, handling, transporting, storing, distributing, and marketing agricultural products. • Determine the costs of marketing agricultural products in their various forms and through various channels. • Assist in the development of more efficient marketing methods, practices, and facilities to bring about more efficient and orderly marketing, and reduce the price spread between the producer and the consumer. • Develop and improve standards of quality, condition, quantity, grade, and packaging in order to encourage uniformity and consistency in commercial practices. • Eliminate artificial barriers to the free movement of agricultural products in commercial channels. • Foster new/expanded domestic/ foreign markets and new/expanded uses of agricultural products. • Collect and disseminate marketing information to anticipate and meet consumer requirements, maintain farm income, and balance production and utilization. Paperwork Reduction Act In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the FSMIP information collection requirements were previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and VerDate Aug<31>2005 19:05 Dec 04, 2007 Jkt 214001 were assigned OMB control number 0581–0240. AMS is committed to compliance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), which requires Government agencies in general to provide the public with the option of submitted information or transacting business electronically to the maximum extent possible. How To Submit Proposals and Applications Applicants have the option of submitting FSMIP applications electronically through the Federal grants Web site, https://www.grants.gov instead of mailing hard copy documents. Applicants considering the electronic application option are strongly urged to familiarize themselves with the Federal grants Web site well before the application deadline and to begin the application process before the deadline. Additional details about the FSMIP application process for all applicants are available at the FSMIP Web site: https:// www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/fsmip.htm. FSMIP is listed in the ‘‘Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance’’ under number 10.156 and subject agencies must adhere to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination in all federally assisted programs. Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627. Dated: November 29, 2007. Lloyd C. Day, Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service. [FR Doc. E7–23528 Filed 12–4–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–02–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS–2007–0149] National Animal Identification System; Updated Program Standards Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments. AGENCY: SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are making available for review and comment a revised version of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Program Standards and Technical Reference document. A previous Program Standards document was originally made available in May 2005. The revised Program Standards and Technical Reference document PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 reflects the continuing evolution of the NAIS, particularly with regard to identification devices available for official use within the system, and provides further guidance to NAIS participants and other interested stakeholders. ADDRESSES: The revised Program Standards and Technical Reference document is available on the Internet at https://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/. The document may also be viewed in our reading room. The reading room is located in Room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 690–2817 before coming. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Adam Grow; Director, Surveillance and Identification Programs, National Center for Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 734– 3752. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On May 6, 2005, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published in the Federal Register (70 FR 23961–23963, Docket No. 05–015–1) a notice advising the public that two documents related to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a Draft Strategic Plan and a Draft Program Standards document, were being made available to the public for review and comment. The Draft Program Standards document provided technical data standards to be used for information systems in the NAIS. Subsequently, a Draft User Guide for the NAIS replaced the 2005 Draft Program Standards, as well as other draft NAIS documents. We published a notice of availability of the Draft User Guide in the Federal Register (72 FR 4680–4681, Docket No. APHIS– 2007–0007) on February 1, 2007. The February 2007 notice also announced the availability of a technical specification document for animal tracking databases and an updated Program Standards and Technical Reference document. The Program Standards and Technical Reference document supplemented the User Guide and contained an update of the data element standards that were in the 2005 Draft Program Standards. It was targeted to entities that are involved in the administration of the program, including manufacturers of animal identification devices. At that time, only E:\FR\FM\05DEN1.SGM 05DEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 5, 2007 / Notices mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES the Cattle Working Group and the Equine Species Working Group had provided performance standards for APHIS to employ when approving devices for use in the NAIS, so the standards included only the recommendations of those groups. Since then, the Swine Working Group and the Sheep and Goat Working Group have also provided recommendations, and in October 2007, we updated the Program Standards and Technical Reference document to include information specific to those species and made some other changes. We are, therefore, now making available to the public for review and comment this newly updated version of the Program Standards and Technical Reference document. We will continue to solicit public comments and stakeholder feedback on the document through the NAIS Web site. Updates to the document include the following: (1) Adjustments to performance standards for identification eartags; (2) adjustments to printing standards for individual animal identification eartags; (3) the addition of printing standards for slaughter swine premises identification; and (4) the adjustment of our performance standards for radio frequency identification (RFID) injectable transponders to allow for the potential use of alternate International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or U.S.-based technology standards. These updates are discussed in more detail below. Performance Standards for Identification Eartags In the February 2007 Program Standards and Technical Reference document, we included a table outlining performance standards for identification eartags. These standards focused on cattle, since the Cattle Working Group had provided performance standards and since cattle were the primary species using NAIS identification at that time. We have now updated the performance standards for ‘‘Readability’’ and ‘‘Tag loss rates’’ to include information specific to sheep and goats and swine. For readability, we have added a note indicating that, for swine, the premises identification number (PIN) must also be easily and reliably readable. For tag loss rates, we have specified separate performance requirements for cattle (noting that the requirements for cattle should be used for all other species not specified in the table), sheep and goats, and swine. Due to the addition of eartag identification performance standards for species other than cattle, we have also changed the VerDate Aug<31>2005 19:05 Dec 04, 2007 Jkt 214001 title of the table from ‘‘Identification Eartag’’ to ‘‘Performance Standards for Identification Eartags for all Species that use Eartags.’’ Printing Standards for Eartags In the February 2007 Program Standards and Technical Reference document, we included a table containing printing standards for identification eartags. As with the performance standards discussed above, the printing standards focused on cattle, since the Cattle Working Group had provided standards and since cattle were the primary species using NAIS identification at that time. We have now updated those standards to address the needs for unique, individual animal identification for sheep and goats and swine. Specifically, we have provided for the following options: (1) The use of smaller print sizes for the U.S. Shield, numbers, and letters, if needed, on tags for sheep and goats; (2) the inclusion of an eight-character series in the National Uniform Eartagging System, in addition to the current nine-character series, to accommodate the need for smaller eartags in smaller species such as swine and sheep; (3) the continuing use of a PIN plus an individual animal number unique to the premises for swine as an alternative to the animal identification number (AIN); and (4) the use of a number issued by the scrapie program consisting of a flock identification number (FIN) plus an individual animal number unique to the flock for sheep and goats as an alternative to the AIN. We have also changed the title of the table from ‘‘Printing Standards for Eartags’’ to ‘‘Printing Standards for Individual Animal ID Eartags’’ to differentiate these standards for ‘‘individual animal identification’’ eartags from the standards for ‘‘premises identification’’ eartags for slaughter swine. Slaughter swine do not require unique, individual animal identification. Printing Standards for Slaughter Swine Premises Identification The Swine Working Group recently provided recommendations related to printing standards necessary for official identification for slaughter swine premises identification. This updated October 2007 Program Standards and Technical Reference document now provides a table, directly following the ‘‘Printing Standards for Individual Animal ID Eartags’’ table described above, outlining the printing standards for slaughter swine premises identification eartags. The February 2007 document did not have such a table. PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 68555 Adjustment to Performance Requirements for RFID Injectable Transponders The February 2007 Program Standards and Technical Reference document included a table outlining performance requirements for RFID injectable transponders, as recommended by the Equine Species Working Group. Continuing work with this group resulted in an application to be used by manufacturers of such devices to gain approval by APHIS for use in the NAIS. The application indicates that other ISO or U.S.-based technology standards might be approved for use by APHIS, so the ‘‘ISO Compliant’’ standard has been adjusted to read, ‘‘All transponders must be certified by ICAR [International Committee for Animal Recording] for conformance with ISO 11784 and 11785, unless other ISO or U.S.-based technology standards are applicable to livestock and approved for use by APHIS.’’ Comments about the revised Program Standards and Technical Reference document or other aspects of the NAIS may be submitted to USDA through the NAIS Web site e-mail address: animalidcomments@aphis.usda.gov or by mail to NAIS Program Staff, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737. Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of November 2007. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. E7–23524 Filed 12–4–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–34–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration Opportunity for Designation in Maryland, New Jersey, and New York Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA. ACTION: Notice and request for applications. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has received inquiries, letters, and requests for official services in the currently unassigned states of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. GIPSA plans to designate one or more organizations qualified to provide official services in Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. GIPSA is asking persons interested in providing official services in all or part of the unassigned areas of Maryland, E:\FR\FM\05DEN1.SGM 05DEN1

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[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68554-68555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23524]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2007-0149]


National Animal Identification System; Updated Program Standards

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are making available for 
review and comment a revised version of the National Animal 
Identification System (NAIS) Program Standards and Technical Reference 
document. A previous Program Standards document was originally made 
available in May 2005. The revised Program Standards and Technical 
Reference document reflects the continuing evolution of the NAIS, 
particularly with regard to identification devices available for 
official use within the system, and provides further guidance to NAIS 
participants and other interested stakeholders.

ADDRESSES: The revised Program Standards and Technical Reference 
document is available on the Internet at https://
animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/. The document may also be viewed in our 
reading room. The reading room is located in Room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Adam Grow; Director, Surveillance 
and Identification Programs, National Center for Animal Health 
Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1231; (301) 734-3752.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 6, 2005, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) published in the Federal Register (70 FR 23961-23963, Docket 
No. 05-015-1) a notice advising the public that two documents related 
to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a Draft Strategic 
Plan and a Draft Program Standards document, were being made available 
to the public for review and comment. The Draft Program Standards 
document provided technical data standards to be used for information 
systems in the NAIS. Subsequently, a Draft User Guide for the NAIS 
replaced the 2005 Draft Program Standards, as well as other draft NAIS 
documents. We published a notice of availability of the Draft User 
Guide in the Federal Register (72 FR 4680-4681, Docket No. APHIS-2007-
0007) on February 1, 2007. The February 2007 notice also announced the 
availability of a technical specification document for animal tracking 
databases and an updated Program Standards and Technical Reference 
document.
    The Program Standards and Technical Reference document supplemented 
the User Guide and contained an update of the data element standards 
that were in the 2005 Draft Program Standards. It was targeted to 
entities that are involved in the administration of the program, 
including manufacturers of animal identification devices. At that time, 
only

[[Page 68555]]

the Cattle Working Group and the Equine Species Working Group had 
provided performance standards for APHIS to employ when approving 
devices for use in the NAIS, so the standards included only the 
recommendations of those groups. Since then, the Swine Working Group 
and the Sheep and Goat Working Group have also provided 
recommendations, and in October 2007, we updated the Program Standards 
and Technical Reference document to include information specific to 
those species and made some other changes. We are, therefore, now 
making available to the public for review and comment this newly 
updated version of the Program Standards and Technical Reference 
document. We will continue to solicit public comments and stakeholder 
feedback on the document through the NAIS Web site.
    Updates to the document include the following: (1) Adjustments to 
performance standards for identification eartags; (2) adjustments to 
printing standards for individual animal identification eartags; (3) 
the addition of printing standards for slaughter swine premises 
identification; and (4) the adjustment of our performance standards for 
radio frequency identification (RFID) injectable transponders to allow 
for the potential use of alternate International Organization for 
Standardization (ISO) or U.S.-based technology standards. These updates 
are discussed in more detail below.

Performance Standards for Identification Eartags

    In the February 2007 Program Standards and Technical Reference 
document, we included a table outlining performance standards for 
identification eartags. These standards focused on cattle, since the 
Cattle Working Group had provided performance standards and since 
cattle were the primary species using NAIS identification at that time. 
We have now updated the performance standards for ``Readability'' and 
``Tag loss rates'' to include information specific to sheep and goats 
and swine. For readability, we have added a note indicating that, for 
swine, the premises identification number (PIN) must also be easily and 
reliably readable. For tag loss rates, we have specified separate 
performance requirements for cattle (noting that the requirements for 
cattle should be used for all other species not specified in the 
table), sheep and goats, and swine. Due to the addition of eartag 
identification performance standards for species other than cattle, we 
have also changed the title of the table from ``Identification Eartag'' 
to ``Performance Standards for Identification Eartags for all Species 
that use Eartags.''

Printing Standards for Eartags

    In the February 2007 Program Standards and Technical Reference 
document, we included a table containing printing standards for 
identification eartags. As with the performance standards discussed 
above, the printing standards focused on cattle, since the Cattle 
Working Group had provided standards and since cattle were the primary 
species using NAIS identification at that time. We have now updated 
those standards to address the needs for unique, individual animal 
identification for sheep and goats and swine. Specifically, we have 
provided for the following options: (1) The use of smaller print sizes 
for the U.S. Shield, numbers, and letters, if needed, on tags for sheep 
and goats; (2) the inclusion of an eight-character series in the 
National Uniform Eartagging System, in addition to the current nine-
character series, to accommodate the need for smaller eartags in 
smaller species such as swine and sheep; (3) the continuing use of a 
PIN plus an individual animal number unique to the premises for swine 
as an alternative to the animal identification number (AIN); and (4) 
the use of a number issued by the scrapie program consisting of a flock 
identification number (FIN) plus an individual animal number unique to 
the flock for sheep and goats as an alternative to the AIN. We have 
also changed the title of the table from ``Printing Standards for 
Eartags'' to ``Printing Standards for Individual Animal ID Eartags'' to 
differentiate these standards for ``individual animal identification'' 
eartags from the standards for ``premises identification'' eartags for 
slaughter swine. Slaughter swine do not require unique, individual 
animal identification.

Printing Standards for Slaughter Swine Premises Identification

    The Swine Working Group recently provided recommendations related 
to printing standards necessary for official identification for 
slaughter swine premises identification. This updated October 2007 
Program Standards and Technical Reference document now provides a 
table, directly following the ``Printing Standards for Individual 
Animal ID Eartags'' table described above, outlining the printing 
standards for slaughter swine premises identification eartags. The 
February 2007 document did not have such a table.

Adjustment to Performance Requirements for RFID Injectable Transponders

    The February 2007 Program Standards and Technical Reference 
document included a table outlining performance requirements for RFID 
injectable transponders, as recommended by the Equine Species Working 
Group. Continuing work with this group resulted in an application to be 
used by manufacturers of such devices to gain approval by APHIS for use 
in the NAIS. The application indicates that other ISO or U.S.-based 
technology standards might be approved for use by APHIS, so the ``ISO 
Compliant'' standard has been adjusted to read, ``All transponders must 
be certified by ICAR [International Committee for Animal Recording] for 
conformance with ISO 11784 and 11785, unless other ISO or U.S.-based 
technology standards are applicable to livestock and approved for use 
by APHIS.''
    Comments about the revised Program Standards and Technical 
Reference document or other aspects of the NAIS may be submitted to 
USDA through the NAIS Web site e-mail address: 
animalidcomments@aphis.usda.gov or by mail to NAIS Program Staff, VS, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of November 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-23524 Filed 12-4-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P

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