The regulations relate only to transported hay that is destined to be fed to livestock entering the nation's food chain, such as beef and dairy cattle, sheep and goats.

All size farms are affected, but those who grow hay exclusively for use in their own livestock operation will see no change in the current procedures.

The regulations state that specific documentation must be kept by farmers if they sell, barter, give away or otherwise ship hay destined for use as livestock feed off the originating farm. If someone else does the hauling, then the responsibility for record keeping shifts to the transporter.

The Food and Drug Administration considers transporters to be anyone who has possession or control of an article of food for the sold purpose of transporting it by rail, road, water, or air.

The transporter's records must include both the source of the hay and the recipient, the origin and destination points, the date the shipment was received and the date it was released. A description of the freight and the number of packages must be noted.

The transporter also must keep track of the route the shipment followed, any transfer points during transport, and the name of each carrier involved in the shipping process.

The FDA requires that records concerning animal food be kept for one year. The documentation may be kept in either a paper or an electronic format. Currently, a standard bill of lading provides most of this information.

When the FDA suspects that food stuffs have been tampered with and present a health threat to humans or animals in the food chain, any records must be easily accessible and made available for inspection or photocopying. Records must be produced within 24 hours from the time of notification.

Producers who grow hay for their own use and do not intend to provide it to other facilities will not, at this time, are not affected by the change in the FDA's rules. (Source: NHA “Hay There”, December 2006)

FDA: Hay Farmers Clear of Records Law

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says most of the nation's hay farmers are excluded from a sweeping recordkeeping regulation.

The clarification came Sept 22 in a posting on the FDA's website dealing with implementation of a biosecurity law: The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism and Response Act.

Source: News-Democrat & Leader