Posted: 03.22.2011

The Chief Operating Officer of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium is helping drive national discussion on animal identification, at a time when Wisconsin's financial committment to the program is in flux.

Wisconsin's Robert Fourdraine is serving as the Board Chair for the National Institute for Animal Agriculture which will be holding its Annual Conference from April 11-14 in San Antonio, Texas. 

In a time of increased focus on how food is produced, consumers and producers alike are searching for ways to understand  and communicate each others’ role in food production.  

Dr. Nevil Speer, chair of NIAA’s Animal Agriculture Advocacy Council says that Carrie Lee, former CNN anchor and current financial news correspondent at Thomson Reuters Financial TV, will add an exciting dimension to the program.  She will be moderating a session where  conference attendees and featured speakers  will develop consensus on consumers’ role in food production.

Dr. Robert Fourdraine, NIAA’s board chair,  adds that  “NIAA has a long history of developing
consensus within animal agriculture that has led to innovation and solutions across species and segments within the industry.  The strength of the association rests in its broad-based
membership comprising livestock producers, animal health experts and representatives from all major livestock species.”

The 2011 Annual Conference also includes an optional tour of the livestock import and export facilities  on the Texas-Mexico border.   The Texas Department of Agriculture and USDA’s
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service  will  host attendees  at  their facilities located near Eagle Pass, Texas, during an all-day tour on Thursday, April 14. 

“The importance of vigilance when importing animals into the United  States cannot be
overstated,” said Jon Johnson, Texas Farm Bureau, organizer of the tour.    “With tens-ofthousands of animals passing through the Eagle Pass port of entry, the tour participants will see firsthand how the U.S. livestock industry is protected.

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