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Article Published: 03/4/06, 3:42 am

Forget the petitions.
(by: Sioux Falls Argus Leader Editorial Board)

A national livestock ID system is coming, and we need it - regardless what the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association says.

The association is gathering signatures on a petition to oppose the program.

"We've got the ability to track our livestock right now. Why in the world would our government want to impose the most burdensome and expensive mandate upon the most independent and low-profit segment of the beef supply chain, the cattle producer?" asked Kenny Fox of Belvidere, chairman of the association's Animal ID Committee.

Having the "ability" and doing it can be two different things. The tracking system is akin to Gov. Mike Rounds' South Dakota Certified Beef program - which seeks to prove to everyone that our beef is produced in a certain way and that we know its origin.

This isn't about expensive mandates. It's about mad cow disease and proving to everyone - especially foreign buyers - that we know what's going on with our livestock.

If we already were doing everything we could, there wouldn't be widespread support for this across the country. Support from consumers, if not producers.

We're going to have a national ID program. The only question is what form it will take.

This petition is stirring producers up, when there's not a prayer of it accomplishing anything.