At first glance it is an unlikely alliance. The Cornucopia Institute, based in Wisconsin, which bills itself as “promoting economic justice for family scale farming,” has aligned itself with R-CALF USA in fighting mandatory livestock identification for livestock that crosses state lines.
Or maybe that alliance isn’t so surprising after all, considering the widespread opposition to animal identification. A joint release from 49 advocacy groups “representing the interests of family farmers, ranchers and consumers” published on the Cornucopia website, asked USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to extend the comment period on a mandatory ID proposal by another 60 days. The comment period was scheduled to end Nov. 9.