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4play See other 4play Articles Title: Junior livestock entries pulled for lack of premise ID At least two exhibitors were disqualified from the Colorado State Fair's Junior Livestock Sale on Tuesday because their animal was improperly registered, according to Fair officials. Fair General Manager Chris Wiseman said two participants were removed from the sale for not having what the Fair determined to be a valid premise ID. "They were replaced in the show by alternates. Both families were given compensation in travel money and will receive the same amount of compensation that the replacement animal sells for." The use of the animal premise ID has been controversial. Supporters say having a registered premise ID, which indicates the physical location where the livestock was raised, can be a significant tool in the case of a disease outbreak. Opponents say it is an invasion of privacy. This is the first year the Fair has required livestock entrants to register premise IDs. Cathy Calderwood's daughter was one of the entrants who was disqualified from the sale. Calderwood of Ignacio is a member of the Colorado Coalition Opposing Mandatory 4-H and FFA Premise ID. La Juntan Kimmi Lewis, another coalition member, received telephone calls about Monday's problems at the Fair. She also is secretary of the Colorado Independent Cattlegrowers Association and the Private Property National Chairwoman for R-Calf USA. Both women said 12 exhibitors had been disqualified from the sale, although Lewis, an ex-4-H leader, was not at the Fair. Wiseman said it was only two. "I have no idea where they got 12," Wiseman said. "I've been involved with this thing from start to finish and the number is two. I think we've been very fair with the families. I think we are going through what changes we need to make in as far as what we're going to do with premise IDs for next year's Fair." However, Calderwood said: "Some of us cannot register our premise for different reasons," adding that some livestock is raised on another property, such as a relative's. "The kids don't have the legal right to register their grandpa's premise. Some asked, ‘Can we use our county fairgrounds as our premise?’ and they did that. "We entered here a month ago. (The Fair's) had that number for a month and they didn't check it until the night before the sale, and that's when they chose to kick us out." Wiseman's reply: "The process takes a while because of the number of entries. This problem was found Monday afternoon. ID premise is supposed to come in with your entry and both of these entries had premise IDs, but neither one of these animals was raised on that premise." State Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, opposes premise ID and happened to be on the Fairgrounds when problems arose. "You would've thought that with 30 days you would've found something was wrong and worked it out," he said Tuesday. "If (the Fair) would've done this two weeks ago, we wouldn't have this problem - and this is what ID premise is for, to be efficient. We're looking at a 30-day lapse. It looks bad for the whole system." It is voluntary to register a premise ID in Colorado. However, the Colorado Cooperative Extension made it a requirement this year for 4-H participants to compete in the State Fair and county fairs next year. McKinley was one of eight state representatives and senators who wrote a letter in June to the extension, asking the requirement be dropped. McKinley said he has talked with the Fair board before about the issue. "I pointed out that they can push these kids around because they're in 4-H and FFA and these kids have nowhere else to go - this is the big show of the year. I told them they're trying to push an agenda through using these kids, and I don't think that's the right message to be giving our future ag producers." But Wiseman said it wasn't a last-minute decision. "This was an issue that was brought to us by 4-H and FFA and it was something that the board felt strongly about to vote for unanimously at the January meeting," Wiseman said. In June, the Fair's board of authority was sent a letter from the Washington County Board of Commissioners, asking for a one-year delay in the ID premise rule. "The reason being, there are certain requirements to the premise ID issue that we do not currently understand. "We would like more information about the system as proposed." "They're targeting kids at the auction," Calderwood said. "It's all about the money. All these animals are going to slaughter. We shouldn't be concerned about them spreading disease; we should be worried about the one's going home. This is a political statement." Sheldon Jones is a State Fair commissioner and a state deputy ag commissioner. He told The Pueblo Chieftain in early July that there is a "tremendous misunderstanding" of the issue and that premise ID is a valuable educational and health tool for 4-H, FFA and consumers. "I think we need to keep our eye on the ball here," he said. "This is another opportunity to protect and give us information to respond in a timely fashion - 24 to 48 hours - in the case of an animal-disease outbreak. It's not an effort to gain access to private property and use that information unnecessarily. It's just another arrow in the quiver." Calderwood said that because she is a member of the coalition, she was treated wrongfully and probably won't return to the State Fair again. "I've been bullied from the get-go because I'm part of the coalition. (The Fair's) bullied me and my daughter the entire week. I even had people harassing me to pick up manure in an aisle that wasn't even mine." But Wiseman said Calderwood "had not been harassed at all - that's very untrue." In viewing registrations, the Fair found Heath Spady had problems with his son's ID premise. Lewis and Calderwood said Spady was "strong-armed" into registering his son's third-place market hog. Spady said he just wants his 8-year-old to compete. "It's not my fight," the Las Animas man said. "It's someone else's. All I'm worried about is one pig and one kid. (The Fair) made it real easy for us to register, so we went ahead and did it." Spady said he doesn't entirely understand the ID premise debate. He said he asked friends about the new Fair requirement and was told his goat/sheep scrapies number would suffice. It didn't. "We used the scrapies number and we're talking about a pig, so maybe I was just wrong from the beginning," he said. "I don't know what the big hubbub is, but if we can get through this afternoon, we'll be alright. "This is the best Fair and this is where you want to bring your animals. All the kids want to show here."
Poster Comment: Bastards! Once again, using children against their parents to get what they want. Just picture it, a rural parent against NAIS, and their child whining "but why can't I show Fluffy in 4-H??" If the parent gives in, Big Bro wins, if the parent doesn't, the kids hates them. It is not like the good Lord did not warn us, Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
#1. To: ladybug (#0)
Thanks for the post and the ping Bug.
There are no replies to Comment # 1. End Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
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