A
Anonymous
Guest
Beef rule heading to court
By JIM GRANSBERY
Of The Gazette Staff
A last-ditch effort to keep the U.S. border closed to Canadian live cattle under 30 months of age and beef will play out in federal district court in Billings Wednesday.
A request for an injunction against the U.S. Department of Agriculture from implementing its "final rule" on the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow" disease, in the Canadian cattle herd will be heard from 8 a.m. to noon before federal Judge Richard Cebull.
R-CALF, a national cattlemen's group based in Billings, seeks the injunction until its lawsuit against USDA's final rule can be heard.
"The way I see it happening is the judge will grant a temporary restraining order before Friday," said Leo McDonnell Jr., president of R-CALF. "Then there will be a hearing on the injunction request about mid-March.
"That will be the full-blown deal with all the witnesses," he said.
Wednesday's hearing will feature attorneys representing R-CALF and the federal government, he said.
The USDA in late December issued its final rule on cattle and beef imports from Canada, labeling the country as "minimal risk" for BSE and setting March 7 as the date to resume trade. Trade was shut off in May 2003 when Canada announced it had a BSE-infected cow in Alberta. Since the setting of the March 7 deadline, Canada has announced two other cases of BSE in its cow herd.
R-CALF says its lawsuit contains volumes of scientific data that suggest Canada's risk status should not be considered "minimal." The USDA's only risk assessment of the possibility of importing BSE or having BSE spread because of trade with Canada is "low" and USDA did not define low, R-CALF argues.
Additionally, the final rule contains several substantial changes from the preliminary rule, and these changes have never been subject to public or industry comment, the cattlemen's group says.
McDonnell said he expects a ruling in R-CALF's favor will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
"I don't know if we can get this resolved, McDonnell said. "We are trying to keep pressure on Congress."
The final rule is subject to congressional review, but Congress appears unlikely to act despite the efforts of Montana's delegation and other cattle-producing states to revoke the rule.
The USDA on Monday released a report that the Canadian cattle industry is in compliance with its ban on ruminant-derived proteins in cattle feed.
Canada and the United States banned ruminant protein in cattle feed in 1997 in response to the BSE outbreak in Great Britain. Scientists believe the ruminant-based feed carried deformed proteins called prions that led to a human form of BSE in those who consumed BSE-infected tissues.
About 150 people have died in the United Kingdom from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and another 11 people have died elsewhere in Europe.
In December 2003, a cow in Washington state was discovered to have BSE, but the cow had come from Canada. Nevertheless, most foreign customers of U.S. beef closed their borders to further U.S. exports. Since that time, the United States has tried to convince its trading partners that U.S. beef is safe and resumption of trade should occur.
Japan, the largest buyer of U.S. beef, has agreed to open is borders to beef from cattle from 14 to 17 months old, but has not provided a specific date for the resumption of trade.
Most U.S. agricultural organizations oppose any opening of the U.S. border to Canadian live cattle until Japan and other foreign customers resume buying U.S. beef.
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents its U.S. cattle producer-members on domestic and international trade and marketing issues.
Its membership consists primarily of cow-calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members, more than 12,000, are located in 44 states.
By JIM GRANSBERY
Of The Gazette Staff
A last-ditch effort to keep the U.S. border closed to Canadian live cattle under 30 months of age and beef will play out in federal district court in Billings Wednesday.
A request for an injunction against the U.S. Department of Agriculture from implementing its "final rule" on the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow" disease, in the Canadian cattle herd will be heard from 8 a.m. to noon before federal Judge Richard Cebull.
R-CALF, a national cattlemen's group based in Billings, seeks the injunction until its lawsuit against USDA's final rule can be heard.
"The way I see it happening is the judge will grant a temporary restraining order before Friday," said Leo McDonnell Jr., president of R-CALF. "Then there will be a hearing on the injunction request about mid-March.
"That will be the full-blown deal with all the witnesses," he said.
Wednesday's hearing will feature attorneys representing R-CALF and the federal government, he said.
The USDA in late December issued its final rule on cattle and beef imports from Canada, labeling the country as "minimal risk" for BSE and setting March 7 as the date to resume trade. Trade was shut off in May 2003 when Canada announced it had a BSE-infected cow in Alberta. Since the setting of the March 7 deadline, Canada has announced two other cases of BSE in its cow herd.
R-CALF says its lawsuit contains volumes of scientific data that suggest Canada's risk status should not be considered "minimal." The USDA's only risk assessment of the possibility of importing BSE or having BSE spread because of trade with Canada is "low" and USDA did not define low, R-CALF argues.
Additionally, the final rule contains several substantial changes from the preliminary rule, and these changes have never been subject to public or industry comment, the cattlemen's group says.
McDonnell said he expects a ruling in R-CALF's favor will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
"I don't know if we can get this resolved, McDonnell said. "We are trying to keep pressure on Congress."
The final rule is subject to congressional review, but Congress appears unlikely to act despite the efforts of Montana's delegation and other cattle-producing states to revoke the rule.
The USDA on Monday released a report that the Canadian cattle industry is in compliance with its ban on ruminant-derived proteins in cattle feed.
Canada and the United States banned ruminant protein in cattle feed in 1997 in response to the BSE outbreak in Great Britain. Scientists believe the ruminant-based feed carried deformed proteins called prions that led to a human form of BSE in those who consumed BSE-infected tissues.
About 150 people have died in the United Kingdom from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and another 11 people have died elsewhere in Europe.
In December 2003, a cow in Washington state was discovered to have BSE, but the cow had come from Canada. Nevertheless, most foreign customers of U.S. beef closed their borders to further U.S. exports. Since that time, the United States has tried to convince its trading partners that U.S. beef is safe and resumption of trade should occur.
Japan, the largest buyer of U.S. beef, has agreed to open is borders to beef from cattle from 14 to 17 months old, but has not provided a specific date for the resumption of trade.
Most U.S. agricultural organizations oppose any opening of the U.S. border to Canadian live cattle until Japan and other foreign customers resume buying U.S. beef.
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents its U.S. cattle producer-members on domestic and international trade and marketing issues.
Its membership consists primarily of cow-calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members, more than 12,000, are located in 44 states.
