by Ann Barnhardt

I attended the Kansas State University Beef ID Academy in July, and knew I had to write about what I learned for FEED•LOT Magazine. The concerns I have heard expressed by producers most often have not been related to the cost or convenience of implementing an ID program. They have related to two factors: liability and confidentiality. No one is keen on tagging their cattle with a fifteen digit government issued ID number, only to enable trial lawyers and animal rights wackos to sue them out of their ranch because Little Timmy in Baltimore spent an evening in the water closet with the scours a year earlier. But, as I will outline, laws have already been passed that strongly protect the producer!

Laws have been passed, but as far as I know, the only state with laws on the books is Kansas. So, if you operate in Kansas, these laws are in effect for you. If you are outside of Kansas, I would be getting on the phone to your state representatives and cracking the whip.

The first issue is liability. What is expected of the producer? In Kansas House Bill 2593, it is made clear that “producers of livestock prepared or processed into meat food products in Kansas will be held to the standard of ordinary care in the growing of their livestock.” (A. Devine)

So what does that mean? It means that producers have no “special” responsibilities, and will be held to the same standards as their peers. As an example, I would interpret that to mean that you are not required to sift through every speck of soil on your place and pick out the eColi bacteria. That’s not ordinary.

When does this standard of ordinary care end? It ends when that animal leaves your control. Notice I said “control” and not “ownership.” It ends when the animal gets on the truck leaving YOUR place and YOU are no longer calling the shots. You may retain ownership of the cattle and send them to a feedyard, but since you don’t call the shots at the feedyard, the cattle are out of your control.

Did you get that feedyard managers? You are held to the standards of ordinary care on animals under your control, whether you own them or not. It also means that packers are responsible for animals as soon as they are under their physical control. Marketing agreements, grids and forward contracts have absolutely nothing to do with it, so don’t even go there. It is all about who has physical, day-to-day control.

Also in Kansas House Bill 2593 is a very cool provision that states “if the livestock had passed state or federal inspection [at the slaughter facility], there is a rebuttable presumption that the producer met the standard of ordinary care in the growing of the livestock.” (A. Devine) That’s powerful. If the pre-slaughter inspector signs off on your beast, you, as a producer, have a very powerful ace in the hole.

Now on to confidentiality. No one wants their competitors, the IRS or animal rights wackos having access to their production data. Don’t worry. They won’t. If you recall, the USDA started out by saying that animal ID would be mandatory, but then switched gears, and animal ID is now a voluntary program. Why did they do this? They did it to protect your confidentiality. Data collected by the government on a VOLUNTARY basis is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Mandatorily collected data IS subject to FOIA. In my mind, this provides the industry with a great incentive to participate in this program. Keep it voluntary; keep it private.
Unfortunately, at some point down the road, some producer or producers will get caught up in one of the aforementioned lawsuits brought by folks with an anti-meat agenda. Given the current law, a producer’s best defense will be his ability to produce good records. A producer able to prove in black and white that he is a conscientious caretaker of his animals, clearly exceeding the “ordinary care” standard, will be all but impervious to foolish litigation.

If you would like to further discuss these issues, don’t call me. Call Allie Devine, the very non-lawyer-like lawyer for the Kansas Livestock Association. It was her presentation that was the source for this article. Thanks Allie! ©

Disclaimer: Information contained herein is believed to be reliable, but no independent verification has been made and there are no guarantees as to its accuracy or completeness. The risk of loss in trading futures and options can be substantial, and investors should very carefully consider the inherent risks. Visit Ann at www.Barnhardt.biz.