FA-RM: What NLIS Has Done to the Australian Cattle Industry

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

What NLIS Has Done to the Australian Cattle Industry
By Monica @ 6:09 PM
We have a bit of a case study of what NAIS in the United States might do to cattle producers, since Australia already has a similar system, called National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).

Australian ranchers are not happy about NLIS -- nor other government regulations. American cattle producers should sit up and take notice:
We have been told for years that we lead the World with MSA and NLIS. We have continually told in the media that our cattle prices are good. After a 40 cent price drop (from a low base) on a falling dollar, in a month, I am not amused.
Why, when we are paying the highest levies and using the most expensive QA and Trace-back systems in the World are we getting the lowest true prices in the developed world?
Is our “Best beef in the World”, really the worst in the developed world? Must we face the fact that we produce a third world product? Is it possible that we have been led by idiots who can’t see beyond their ivory tower?

One has to love the no-nonsense of the folks down under. I don't claim to know much about the Australian cattle industry, but the author of the article appears to point to at least a few more regulatory problems. FYI, MSA is a government meat grading program (referred to above and below) and from what I can see, looks to be an extreme waste of Australian taxpayer money, as does NLIS:
There is now no viable export abattoir in two thirds of our Continent, west of a line from Adelaide to Townsville; - there were once eight. Western Australians are trucking cattle over the Nullabor, or just moving out of the industry. It is a terrible indictment on industry and Ministerial leadership.
We are leading the world into vegetarianism, as our cattlemen are squeezed out of business by the highest regulatory costs, the toughest retail duopoly, one of the highest interest rates in the World, on top of trying to produce in one of the toughest environments.
What to do?
We must change direction – fast; - cut our costs. Forget about complicated systems like NLIS, MSA, Breed plan and our expensive levy. They have taken us down the path to oblivion.
Unfortunately, there are similar parallels in the United States. I would guess the lack of abbatoirs has to do with the cost of federal inspection, as it does here in the United States. Off the top of my head, I remember reading today that there were 500 or more federally approved slaughterhouses in the United States about 10 years ago. Today? 350. And only four of those slaughterhouses handle a whopping 90% of the meat produced in the United States. Since USDA approved slaughter is a requirement of selling your meat to others, this is an enormous problem.

All such government programs and regulations, including NAIS and requirements for federally approved slaughter for sale to consumers, must be abolished. It is absurd to believe that USDA approved slaughterhouses that probably look worse that the ones Upton Sinclair observed in the early 1900s (who would know? no one is allowed into them!) produce safer meat than local, small scale operations, such as this one below. The following operation is federally inspected (otherwise the owners would have to give the meat away and it would be illegal to sell it) but I can scarcely believe the regulations affect their practices much. I'm sure it costs them a lot, though.

(Warning, it's slightly graphic after the first few moments):

HT for Australian cattle article: Walter Jeffries
Labels: De-regulation, NAIS

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