Good news for small farms

From Yellow House Farm:

We have wonderful news! The National Animal Identification System, a.k.a. NAIS, is being abandoned by the USDA because you spoke out!!!!

It is not that animal identification is going away completely. Indeed, they are going to move toward a new tailored program that follows interstate moving of animals. Insofar as this will not affect the vast majority of small-scale, i.e. locally focused, producers, the general threat that NAIS represented to the small-scale farmer is alleviated. The potentially devastating threat that NAIS represented to farms that safeguard heritage animals was utterly horrific. This is, indeed, wonderful news for the continued existence and promotion of traditional farm animals. Here's the New York Times article: link