Reply to Kevin Wills, sorry I am so slow, this cattle business does not leave much time or energy to keep up with these things this time of the year.
I say you are wrong! Myself, I don't hate you for your good luck, and that is exactly what it was, that the BSE showed up in Canada first instead of the USA. I do hate the bad luck we are experiencing right now but I am intelligent enough to know that you, Kevin Wills were not the engineer of that bad luck, it just happened.
The ranchers here will not cause your bad luck when things get "normal" and I have to believe they will or I would not be out there caring if these nearly worthless mommas and babies are all right.
I have said in previous posts that I have frends in Montana, I don't resent THEM It is their turn! But someday it will be OUR turn. I hope you can accept that when it happens!
ON BSE
If both countries keep testing they might find more.
I live near one of the largest ports of entry between Canada and the US. Depending on what was happening with cattle trade at any particular time, there would be liner loads of live cattle backed up for MILES on one side of the border or other waiting to clear customs and be on their way. I had an Uncle in the purebred Angus business. His best customer for many years was a ranch in Nebraska. He kept his hiefer calves, bred them and shipped some of them off to Nebraska. They thought it was a good deal, gave them access to his good bloodlines, they got a cow and calf and didn't have to pay a fortune for one of his bulls. I"m sure he wasn't the only producer sending seed stock south. Thousands or millions of animals probably went there. The buyers were buying QUALITY they couldn't find in their neighbourhood. I hope none of those cattle carried BSE with them. It will not benefit Canada if the US finds BSE, it's the same as us finding another one.
Because of this trade, if BSE was prevalent in either country at any time I can rememer up until May, 2003, how could that disease possibly not be in both countries? Right now it looks to me it might be confined to a relatively small area in the central part of Alberta. I do know that the vet in our area is so busy euthanizing old, sick, downer cows for BSE testing, he hardly has time to look after any live cow problems. All have tested negative.
I do not say you are greedy. You had no part is causing your good fortune. If you had made this situation for your own gain, you would have been greedy. You say I am whining, I didn't mean it to sound that way, just stating a fact.
One thing I do wish is that the USA hadn't made the Japanese so MAD sometime in history. You and I will probably pay for that for a while yet!