USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service continues to build steam toward registering production agriculture premises across the country. Nebraska has become the 10th state to register at least 50 percent of its premises.

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) advocates premises registration as a means of prevention and protection against disease outbreaks in the U.S. livestock and poultry industries. The aim is to trace data within a 48-hour window, in order to contain the potential spread of an outbreak.

“Premises registration is absolutely necessary to rapidly and reliably trace and eradicate animal disease,” said Bruce Knight, undersecretary of USDA’s marketing and regulatory programs. “As the number of registered premises continues to grow, it emphasizes the growing support for animal identification, and I applaud these producers for making a choice that is crucial to the health and economic well-being of commercial livestock and poultry industries in the United States.”

Previous to Nebraska, nine other states have already reached the halfway point in premises registration including: Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin.

Estimates place the number of premises nationwide at approximately 1.4 million.