A spokesperon for USDA’s APHIS provided the following statement regarding the recent Delta Farm Press story on the National Animal Identification System (http://deltafarmpress.com/news/animal-identification-0420/):

“A clarification we want to make: while Kansas State University recently conducted a cost-benefit analysis for NAIS — which will be made public once the final report is complete — the dollar figures cited (in the story) aren’t from that study. Those are drawn from an unrelated report that Kansas State University did on the incorporation of radio frequency identification on beef herd management.

“Initial figures show that annual government and industry costs to maintain a functional animal ID system will exceed $200 million. However, that roughly translates to less than a half cent increase per pound of red meat.

“A single foot and mouth outbreak can cost billions of dollars in terms of both industry losses and response efforts at the federal and state levels.”