Hello, my name is Margiana Petersen-Rockney, I am 16 years old, an active member of 4-H, and the business manager and partner in a Nigerian dairy goat farm, Rosasharn Farm in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. I have grown up with animals my entire life. They have been a huge part of my life. I, myself, have a strong character with a profound interest in learning about responsibility, leadership and community service through my animals. I fear if NAIS becomes law this will not be possible for future young people.

Everyday you read in the newspaper, or hear on the radio, about young people, the youth of our country, getting into trouble. The sense of responsibility in our generation has not been well cultivated. Animals give us an opportunity, a means, toward this cultivation of character. If it becomes more difficult than it already is for young people to be involved with livestock, if it becomes easier to disassociate ourselves from the source of our food, problems will increase. Youth need the government to encourage participation in programs like 4-H that teach life skills like leadership, record keeping, responsibility, and the importance of helping others. Instead, the government is slashing funds to these programs and imposing new regulations that will make small-scale farming and participation in 4-H programs more difficult.

If the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) becomes law, it will threaten 4-H programs and small-scale farming. NAIS will add additional cost to what each person must already bear to maintain animals, already a money losing endeavor I most instances. If NAIS becomes law, each time a 4-H youth goes to an agricultural fair he or she will have to inform the government when they leave the farm, when they arrive at the fairgrounds, when they leave the fairgrounds, and when they return home. At the government's expense? I don't think so; more likely at the expense of that young person trying to make a difference in his or her life.

Let me tell you a little story. As the business manager of our small farm (home to about 30 miniature dairy goats) I have to keep detailed records of the farm's revenues and expenses. After 20 years of building a reputation, we are finally at a place where financially we ALMOST break even. I am glad, of course, to participate in one of the two industries allowed to lose money each year, the other being fishing. I say this to remind you that small scale farming is not a money making venture, people do it because they love it, not because it helps pay the bills. Small-scale farmers and 4-H youth are not going to be able to afford the time or money involved to track every movement of their animals. People are not going to be able to take their animals to a veterinarian, to fairs, to shows, or to breedings without satisfying cumbersome regulations. Just think of the ripple effect this will have. If 4-H kids can't take their animals to a fair, either because they can't afford the new expense and hassle or because the fairs no longer find it worth their while to include livestock, the 4-H kid is going to lose that valuable experience, the fair is going to lose that participation, the public is going to lose that education. You see, a seemingly small thing such as NAIS will have drastic effects on everyone.

Having participated in 4-H for over 9 years I can tell you what a great opportunity it has been for me, all of the doors that it has opened and the skills I have gained. I would not be who I am today without 4-H and my animals. With my goats I have learned much and prospered as a person. I want other young people to have the same opportunity I have had. I want them to be able to keep a pair of goats in their yard without the government getting involved. Ask yourself, what threat does a child's goat pose to the general public? I am serious; does the government have a place in this? No. if anything the government should be doing everything in its power to help that child continue to keep those animals, starting by re-instating funding to outreach programs such as 4-H.
If you think this law is going to make our food system safer while keeping our farms alive, you are wrong. This is going to devastate the future of America, starting at its roots, with the youth of this country. NAIS will make it even more difficult for small farmers and 4-H youth alike, while having little effect on big agri-businesses that could actually pose a threat to food security, if that is even what this is about.

I am going to ask you a question. What purpose does NAIS serve? If it is, as the booklets say, to keep our food safe, it should target big factory farms (which are exempt from tracking) not small farmers and people with backyard pets. Or is it a scapegoat for big agri-businesses? Do you really think that if someone got sick after eating a hamburger at McDonalds, it is likely that the animal that became that hamburger was owned by 4-H kids or a small-scale cattle farm? No! Not at all. In fact most likely those animals lived in Brazil where there was once tropical rain forest, but that is a whole different story. The point is, NAIS is not going to help anyone, it is only going to cause harm to the already fragile infrastructure of small farms and 4-H programs.
So please, consider the young people of this country, the future generations. Remember that, though we may not have the loudest voice, we still deserve to be heard and our opinions do matter. Consider how having the opportunity to care for an animal has changed so many lives in the past for the better. Please stop NAIS and allow animals to continue to improve the lives of young people in the future as they have mine.