The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is encouraging all Iowa livestock farmers to make sure that all livestock locations have a premises identification number (PIN) and to make sure their information is current.

The department will be contacting livestock producers who have previously registered a premises in an effort to update the Iowa Premises Registration PIN database. Farmers are asked to respond to the letter and either confirm the information is correct or respond with their updated information.

“Being able to quickly identify any and all premises during an animal disease outbreak is a vitally important step as we work to stop the spread of the disease,” said Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.  “We do want to assure farmers that all the information in the premises ID database is completely confidential and protected under federal law and can only be used for animal health purposes.”

Producers in Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista and Butler counties can expect to receive their letters in October.

In November, letters will be sent to producers in in Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay and Clayton counties.

IDALS will then continue alphabetically through the counties over the next several months.
Farmers can complete or renew their premises registration by completing the form found on the department’s website at http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/animalIndustry/pdf/premiseIDapp2.pdf  and submitting the signed form to the department.

“Time spent finding unregistered premises during an outbreak is time we can’t focus on controlling the disease, so it is very important Iowa farmers take the time to register their premises and make sure all the information is up to date,” Naig said. “Producers also benefit by having a premises identification number before a disease outbreak occurs because the premises identification number is the key linchpin to all activities relating to that producer, such as notification that a producer may be in a control zone and tracking diagnostic information.”

Iowa currently has more than 32,500 premises registered.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about premises identification can be found at www.IowaAgriculture.gov under “Hot Topics.”  Or, if farmers have questions, they can contact the department’s Animal ID Coordinator at (888) 778-7675 or at idals_id@iowaAgriculture.gov. More information also is available on USDA’s Animal Disease Traceability Home site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/traceability/.

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