Monday, March 10, 2008 9:42 PM CDT
Livestock premise ID program lacks support, says state senator
By By AMBER WILLIAMS, Staff Writer
awilliams@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — The chairman of the Illinois Senate agriculture committee said Monday he opposes the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s handling of a plan to implement a livestock premise identification program.
The ag department acted on its own without consulting lawmakers or the farm bureaus when it put a new requirement in place this year to register premises where livestock are kept with the state, said Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville.
Sullivan, chairman of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, was the featured speaker Monday at the annual Rural Urban Luncheon held by the Mattoon and Charleston Rotary clubs. He was joined at the luncheon by Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon.
The ag department proposed that owners of livestock voluntarily register their premises with the state. However, any person who wants to enter an animal in a state-supported event like a county fair would be required to register their animal.
“The public’s reaction to that has become very negative,” Sullivan said.
Although Sullivan said he is not opposed to the idea of premise identification, he disagrees with the way the ag department has gone about implementing it.
By requiring people who show animals at county fairs to register their premises, the department is putting this responsibility on the backs of the youths who are mostly involved in these fairs, he said.
A bill in the Illinois House of Representatives that is in its second reading would require the Department of Agriculture to hold off on premise identification until it becomes a federal requirement, Sullivan said.
“We want to send a message to the department that we want to be involved in this,” he said.
The benefit of a program like the premise identification system is that if an outbreak of an affliction like mad cow disease were to happen in Illinois, health officials would have a quick way to determine where the contaminated animals came from.
Sullivan also said he and other legislators have been working to convince the governor to release more funds for soil and water conservation districts across the state.
Such districts are funded by the state in the form of grants, which are administered through the governor’s office.
Since the state has a lack of revenue and is in a cash flow crisis, the governor’s office has held back payment of the soil and water conservation grants, Sullivan said.
So far, lawmakers have only been successful in getting about 15 percent of the district funds released, he said.
As a result of this, some soil and water conservation districts are having to cut back on staff and hours, according to Sullivan.
For downstate politicians dealing with agriculture issues, Sullivan said they have been able to form a coalition and work together, regardless of party.
Righter agreed that political issues in Springfield often come down to geographic differences more than party conflicts.
“Bipartisanship does survive in Springfield,” Righter said.
About 200 people attended the luncheon at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center’s Education Center.
Contact Amber Williams at awilliams@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.
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