WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2007 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced a partnership with the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) that will facilitate the registration of dairy farm, dairy calf and heifer grower premises as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).

"This agreement is another important step forward as we advance the National Animal Identification System," said Bruce Knight, under secretary for USDA's marketing and regulatory programs. "It builds on agreements previously announced with the National Pork Board, the National FFA Organization and the U.S. Animal Identification Organization to promote animal health by providing producers with the information they need to take the important step of registering their premises and protecting their animals."

The NMPF is spearheading the effort of IDairy, a consortium of dairy cattle associations formed in 2005 to promote NAIS in the dairy industry. Since IDairy was established, more than 30,000 dairy producers have registered their premises under the NAIS, but as many as 35,000 commercial dairy farms and dairy calf and heifer grower operations are yet to be registered. IDairy's goal is to have 100 percent of the operations registered in order to enable animal health officials to quickly respond to an animal health emergency.

Under the agreement announced today, NMPF, with the cooperation of the rest of the IDairy consortium, will conduct an outreach campaign including direct mail, advertising, Internet activities, dairy and trade show presentations and individual contacts with producers including on-site visits.

NAIS consists of three components: premises registration, animal identification and tracing. The premises registration component of NAIS ensures the availability of a nationwide communications network to assist livestock owners and animal health officials in the event of an animal disease event. More than 406,000 premises nationwide have been registered to date. Earlier this year USDA announced the availability of $6 million for cooperative agreements, subject to availability, to support nonprofit agricultural organizations to promote NAIS and to increase participation in premises registration.