With a goal to have all 50 states with at least 25 percent registration by January, Nebraska has far surpassed that benchmark, while Kansas is lagging behind, though the national average isn't much better. Nebraska had 13,800 hard copies of premises registered, with about 10,000 downloaded into the federal database. Last month, USDA revised its estimate of Nebraska premises to 30,815, so registration is past the 40 percent level.

In Kansas, 4,300 premises have been registered, out of a revised estimate of 39,333, for a rate of just over 10 percent.

“Our goal still is to get as many as possible,” said Dr. Dennis Hughes. “As (Kansas) state veterinarian, I'm involved in where a disease is spread and to put it out quickly. What I have now is better than I had a year ago.”

Education is the key, said Hughes and Bryan Rickard, Kansas NAIS program manager.

“Probably our biggest deal is getting education out about the program,” Rickard said. “The 4,300 that are already registered are more progressive producers. Now, we have to go back to the grassroots.”

Those efforts probably weren't made any easier recently when USDA announced NAIS would be completely voluntary.

Source: Farm & Ranch Guide