Missouri Farm Bureau and SB 931

An Open Letter to our elected officials Missouri House of Representatives, Missouri Senate, Governor Matt Blunt

January 29, 2008 By Bob Parker, Texas County Missouri

Dear Legislators and Governor Blunt,

As a very concerned cattle producer in Missouri I am writing to voice my horror in what is happening on the Federal Level and in every State in this Union. USDA along with Farm Bureau and Big Ag interests, as well as Technology companies such as Veri-chip and Digital Angel, [See the membership list of NIAA] have conspired together to create the ultimate regulatory monster called The National Animal Identification System, or NAIS. As a member of Missouri Farm Bureau I was horrified to see that Missouri Farm Bureau President Charles Kruse sent a letter to USDA [July of 2005] saying that MOFB was supportive of a mandatory NAIS and that MOFB also supported the NAIS program going mandatory, this letter said in part;

[ We believe a mandatory Identification program will ultimately be necessary…] [all livestock species listed should be included…[29 species] [The suggested timeline for implementing NAIS is realistic ] MOFB letter July 6,2005

Note; The latest Document on NAIS, the 2008 NAIS business plan, states on page 41 that the 2005 NAIS draft plan that Mr. Kruse was commenting on “ remains the catalyst to achieve a uniform system nationwide and, on occasion, are added to.” In other words, the ’05 draft plan is still the foundation of NAIS.

Believe me, the last thing Charles Kruse wants is for you and Farm Bureau’s members to know about this letter and their involvement in pushing NAIS. Most members I know of that have seen this letter have left Missouri Farm Bureau. I was personally voted off my FB board in Texas County before I could show my other board members this letter after speaking out about it. This letter does not involve the grassroots, they didn’t even know about it or the details of NAIS and most still don’t! I was going to inform the members of this at the annual meeting but was removed so that couldn’t happen. So much for grassroots!

To read more about the expulsion go to;

http://henwhisperer.blogspot.com/2007/08/texas-county-missouri-farm-bureau.html

NAIS includes not only forcing livestock owners to register their farms, thereby subjecting themselves to unwarranted searches of their farms by USDA, but also tagging 29 species of animals with computer chips, some of which will be injected into the animal.

Additionally, NAIS will force farmers to report 14 events within 24 hours with USDA via computer or call in. I want you to know that the members of MOFB were never aware of the details of NAIS and MOFB has done everything in their power to cover-up the details of NAIS. I would be glad to come in and personally show you the facts. I would welcome Charles Kruse to be there and have to explain what he has done and how he has covered up the truth about NAIS to his membership. Mr. Kruse has sent letters to MOFB members saying that I am misrepresenting the facts about NAIS, but he has never answered me as to specifically what I am saying that is untrue or a misrepresentation.

Now you all have a letter from MOFB signed by MOFB Charles Kruse, dated Jan 28 ^th 2008 opposing SB 931.

The letter states MOFB policy; “We favor a voluntary (not a USDA or State Mandatory)…

I want to point out that NAIS is currently being rolled into all existing MANDATORY Missouri Dept of AG animal health programs. Just ask Missouri State Vet Taylor Woods. He told me himself that NAIS is being rolled into existing Health programs. The current cooperative agreement between USDA and MO Dept of Ag states on page 26 that premise numbers will be mandatory for import and export of livestock, friends, that will not be voluntary! MOFB has never told its members that!! If they have, where have they? Ask Leslie Holloway or Mr. Kruse for the documents where they told their members this. They do not represent the heart and soul of Missouri livestock owners!

On page 26 it also states Premise ID numbers will also be mandatory for all disease programs, Bovine TB, Brucellosis, Johne’s, Coggins testing, Scrapies, …ALL PROGRAMS!! Remember, NAIS is not just Premise Registrations; it is tagging, chipping, and TRACKING! 48 hour trace back! If you want to know how they intend to get 48-hour trace back you must understand what USDA and MOFB are proposing, but proponents never tell anyone the details until it is too late! Ask MOFB to show you where they have ever showed their members the details of what must be done to get 48-hour trace back! Ask Leslie Holloway for the documents. Ask Charles Kruse for the documents where members are told the details and then want that in their policy. They can’t, and believe me, they sure don’t want you to ask them for it. For the record, for two years I have begged them to tell their members that full story about NAIS, as far as I know, they never have! As a legislator you must ask yourself is this leadership of MOFB really representing their members interests? Honestly, how many farmers that you know would support this if they knew these details I have mentioned? Any?

Farm Bureau mentions that they are going to tell everyone how you vote on this. Your constituents may also have this letter. Which one will carry the most weight? I have no doubt I am telling the truth here and that time will prove me right. NAIS will be implemented in just a matter of months now. Just remember this letter after NAIS is implemented and your Farm community is devastated over the coming years. Will you just do nothing? Will you just talk about saving the farm but do nothing when it really matters? We need you to stop this now, not later. We are out of time…don’t let them tell you we can’t sell any livestock in the future without NAIS. We have gone 200 plus years as a country with out NAIS. Believe me, we will do just fine without it…

Opponents of NAIS have had over 22 meetings across Missouri in the last two years explaining the details of NAIS to the citizens of this great State. We have 12,000 signatures on petitions opposing NAIS. I appeal to you in the strongest of terms. Before you listen to proponents of NAIS, find out what is really happening with this program. I have asked at nearly every meeting how many oppose NAIS after hearing the facts right out of the USDA documents. 99.9% say they do not want this program!

I have been in the livestock industry all my adult life and also as a youth growing up on a farm. Never in my life have I seen a program that will devastate small farms like NAIS will. The costs involved, the labor involved, the liability involved, the list goes on and on.

I have registered cattle and a registered brand. I have always ID’d my cattle. I am proud of what I produce but I don’t want the government coming on my property and fining me and my healthy cattle for lost ear tags or other areas of non-compliance with NAIS. USDA already has disease protocol in place that have eradicated and controlled disease. These programs work. They will even tell you that these programs have worked so well they have trouble tracing animals because we are so disease free. Don’t let them tell you that we must have NAIS to survive, we can’t survive WITH NAIS as small producers.

This legislation, SB 931, will help to keep NAIS from being implemented in Missouri. It must be addressed on the Federal level too. Maybe we will lose this fight. Maybe we will have legislators that refuse to get the facts about NAIS before moving ahead. Maybe small farmers are a thing of the past. Maybe the fight is too big. Maybe the program is too complicated for most to understand until it is too late.

Maybe fascism and Big Government will take over every aspect of our lives before long. Maybe every living thing will be chipped, tracked, and regulated. Maybe the Federal and State Agencies really will take over America as our legislators relinquish their ability to govern with common sense and wisdom. Maybe we will have to have a premise number and chip our animals and report all movements within 24 hours, maybe we will have to have this number before we can buy or sell, maybe the principals that led our founding fathers are too old fashioned for our modern world to understand anymore, maybe our Constitutional freedoms and rights of free exercise and privacy and property rights are outdated, but so help me God, I will fight it until my last breath…

Sincerely,

Bob Parker

Raymondville, MO

417-457-6111 E-mail Bob@bakerealty.com

I will be glad to come and testify at hearings anytime. I do ask however that sufficient time be given to explain this program. This cannot be explained in the 5 minutes usually allowed. There are hundreds of pages of official documents on this program.

For more information about Farm Bureau and NAIS go to

http://www.propertyrights.org/org-act/ED2707.htm

http://xstatic99645.tripod.com/naisinfocentral/id69.html

www.nonais.org

http://forums.news-leader.com/viewtopic.php?p=40081&sid=2820a53fa2cff9ba3334b0655868d889

Texas County (Missouri) Farm Bureau Expels Member Over NAIS

Outspoken Farm Bureau Member gets the Axe over NAIS!

For immediate release; contact information; Bob Parker Bob@bakerealty.com

Texas County Farm Bureau Expels member over NAIS

In Houston, Missouri the debate over The National Animal Identification System rages on. Tuesday, August 14th, 2007, the board met with about half of the board members present. Board member Gerald Campbell, also past President of Texas County Cattlemen's Association and also a director from District 3 of the Missouri Beef Industry Council Board of Directors, made a motion to remove longtime Texas County Board member Bob Parker because of his outspoken opposition to the NAIS program.

Mr. Campbell, whose wife Nancy works for Farm Bureau, stated that Bob Parker had attacked Missouri Farm Bureau and needed to be removed from the board. Mr. Campbell also stated that he had attended the Property Rights Congress Meeting in Cabool a few days ago and stated that PRC president Russell Wood, speaker Doreen Hannes, and speaker Ray Cunio, and Bob Parker had all attacked Missouri Farm Bureau for their promotion of NAIS. Mr. Campbell's motion was seconded by Gus Adams, his wife Betty Adams is also Vice President of the Property Rights Congress Chapter and both voted for Mr. Parker's removal.

Mr. Parker repeatedly asked specifically why the board was seeking to remove him. He was told by Mr. Campbell and Texas County FB President Don Luersson that because of his open attack upon Farm Bureau that they wanted him removed. Betty Adams charged that Mr. Parker had personally attacked Gerald Campbell at the PRC meeting by exposing how he voted on a resolution supporting Mandatory NAIS. Mr. Parker stated that he believed the votes of the Texas County Farm Bureau board should be open to it's members and the public. Mr. Campbell was invited to sit on a panel discussion on NAIS at the PRC meeting but after a 10 minute opening statement Mr. Campbell refused to answer any questions about NAIS or explain his statements. He stated that he had to leave for a granddaughters birthday party and left the panel only to take a seat in the back of the meeting hall.

Mr. Parker asked the board several times specifically what the charges were against him and also stated that the by-laws of Texas County Farm Bureau did not provide for removing a member in this way. President Don Luersson agreed but said they were going to do it anyway. No specific charges were ever given.

Mr. Parker said he would be glad to respond to any specific charges and would gladly show anyone why he has been very vocal about his opposition to what the leadership of MOFB has done, citing specifically a July 2005 letter where MOFB President Charles Kruse told the USDA that Missouri Farm Bureau supported NAIS and that the full program should ultimately be Mandatory. Mr. Parker continues to contend that MOFB grassroots members have never said that in their policy. Mr. Parker believes that the leadership in MOFB has been in full support of a mandatory program in the past and doesn't trust the leadership anymore.

Mr. Parker states ''I have pointed out what the leadership of MOFB has done, and they are continuing to cover up how this ''voluntary'' program will become ultimately Mandatory! Did you know that most marketing programs and all animal health programs are requiring a NAIS premise number? How will that be ''voluntary''? Why doesn't MOFB point that out to their members? Why is no opposition to NAIS ever invited to speak to the resolutions committee's? I could go on and on. Why did Mr. Kruse stop a meeting in Springfield when I asked about his letter? He doesn't want you to know about it, they had to get me out, this information is starting to cost them a lot of money, and members.''

I have repeatedly asked leadership in MOFB to tell the members the facts about NAIS. They have flatly refused. This is too huge of an issue to ignore, I firmly believe that if NAIS is fully implemented it will wipe out most small farmers, this is for 29 species, not just cattle!'' Mr. Parker continues, ''when I told Mr. Campbell last year about how small farmers would not do all the work that these regulations would impose he told me that we don't need all those small producers anyway, he said and I quote, 'what good are they doing for the industry?' He also voted that NAIS should be Mandatory when our board voted on it Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 by voting against it. The resolution stated; Be it hereby resolved that the Texas County Farm Bureau Board Does hereby reject the current proposal by USDA to make mandatory the implementation of the National Animal Identification System.

I think that FB members should know what their leaders really think about NAIS and I also believe that Cattlemen should know what their Missouri Beef Council leaders are saying and doing.''

The majority vote was in favor of removing Mr. Parker immediately from the board. Two members, Dan Kyle and Robert Rouse voted against the motion. Mr. Parker goes on '' I have tried to expose Farm Bureau leadership for what they have done. It comes as no surprise that this happened, I could never explain the details of what has happened to my board because of constantly being attacked by Gerald Campbell and President Don luersson at the meetings. Missouri Farm Bureau's membership is off about 10% in many areas in the State due to members learning about what Farm Bureau has done. They are very upset over that.

Mr. Parker ''I have never told anyone to leave MoFB. I have tried to work to change the organization for the better. I believe in the grassroots structure but the leadership controls all the information thatthe members get. Farm Bureau has never printed anything about why so many oppose this NAIS program. Now I strongly encourage every member to drop Farm Bureau! Drop your membership! Drop your insurance! Drop your support, and send a strong message to MOFB that this leadership must be changed before you support this organization any more''.

''I thought one of the founding principals of our country was freedom of speech, not in Farm Bureau, not anymore. You can be a grassroots member, as long as you don't expose leadership. I guess the facts speak for themselves. Don't be fooled by the new rhetoric from the leadership of Missouri Farm Bureau saying they oppose mandatory NAIS, they know that very soon NAIS will be involved in so many programs we will never keep it ''Voluntary'', regardless of their ''policy''. The days of Free Farmers will soon be over, sold out by the very people we trusted''.

For immediate release;
contact information; Bob Parker Bob@bakerealty.com