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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF ANIMAL HEALTH 'ROAD
SHOW'
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) is promoting
its new Premise Identification Program at fairs, festivals and meetings
throughout the state. The goal of the program is to create a record
of every farm in the state.
According to Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass, the program
is a watershed initiative in the way this country manages its livestock
herds. Information gathered for the program "will be used exclusively
for dealing with animal health emergencies and nothing else."
Premise ID numbers are part of a larger, nationwide animal ID system
that will go into effect next year. The system will use radio frequency
chips to identify and track animals as they move in commerce. The
system will facilitate a 48-hour traceback of any sick animal, thus
protecting America's food supply and our nation's ability to market
our agricultural products in other countries.
Representatives from WVDA's Animal Health Division will attend
the following events to answer questions and to collect basic information
from farmers about their operations:
- October 14 - Greenbrier County Farm Bureau
- October 19 - Wirt County Farm Bureau
- October 23 - Pasture Walk, Doward Matlick Farm, Barbour County
- October 26-28 - West Virginia Conservation Partnership Conference,
Marriott Hotel, Charleston
- October 28 - Tucker County Farm Bureau
- November 1 - Putnam County Livestock Association Meeting
For more information, or to register your farm via telephone, call
WVDA's Animal Health Division at 304-558-2214 or 1-866-844-2214.
Contact: Buddy Davidson
Communications Officer
304/558-3708, 361-9484 (pager)
bdavidson@ag.state.wv.us
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal
and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and
consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner
of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West
Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving
agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit
www.wvagriculture.org.
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