• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Ranchers.net

If companies want to test for BSE, let them



By MATTHEW WILDE, Courier Staff Writer

Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier

May 14, 2006

Iowa, US



Creekstone Farms Premium Beef is David.



The U.S. Department of Agriculture and corporate America is Goliath.



Iowa cattle farmers should pray little David eventually slays the giant. But I have a feeling the slingshot is empty and free enterprise will continue to take a beating of biblical proportions.



Two months ago, Creekstone Farms sued the department for the right to test every animal it slaughters for mad cow disease. The Kansas packer claims it's losing $40,000 a day because foreign customers don't want to buy beef that isn't tested.



The department doesn't allow individual, discretionary testing --- backed by large meat companies --- citing cost, logistics and fears food safety can't be assured. The USDA and most packers are afraid if one company does it, buyers will want every company to do it.



I don't see the harm in allowing companies that want to test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disease, to do it at their expense. It might even help Iowa farmers.



By keeping small packers in business to compete with the likes of Tyson and Cargill, that increases competition for cattle. In other words, higher prices. Creekstone has already laid off 150 workers due to reduced sales.



Worse yet, the farmer-owned beef plant in Tama closed because beef exports essentially ceased in December 2003. Iowa Quality Beef Supply Cooperative is trying to find a new partner to re-open the facility. I'm not saying open testing would resurrect the plant, but for a company that relied on exports, having the option couldn't hurt.



Joel Brinkmeyer, executive vice president of the Iowa Cattleman's Association and co-op board member, said he hasn't studied plant testing enough to know if it would be a benefit or not.



"I don't think small plants would have an unfair advantage," Brinkmeyer added.



It's hard enough for small packers to compete, but to not allow them to regain market share by offering a niche product is wrong. The principles of capitalism and free enterprise are being ignored. It's like the government not letting a car manufacturer put six airbags in a vehicle to differentiate itself when only four are required.



Kevin Pentz, vice president of operations for Creekstone Farms, said Japanese buyers want them to test, and they want to give their best foreign client what they want.



"We don't hide the fact it's a marketing scenario we're in. We think due diligence as far as what's right by our customers and what customers are demanding ought to take precedence," Pentz said on Agritalk, an ag radio program. Media interviews with Creekstone officials discussing the suit can be found on Creekstone's Web site at www.creekstonefarmspremiumbeef.com.



The company is the 12th largest packer in the U.S., but officials say it only slaughters around 1,000 head a day, or about 1 percent of the country's daily kill. Officials said BSE testing would cost about $20 per head, adding about 10 cents to each pound of beef.



Tama's plant harvested 800 head of cattle a day when it closed.



Lost beef exports has cost the industry in excess of $8 billion. Japan was Iowa's best customer, buying more than $100 million a year. Exports resumed for a brief period late last year to Japan, but closed again after veal cuts with backbone were found in a shipment.



Both Creekstone and USDA officials agree U.S. beef is safe to eat and good preventive BSE measures are in place. The USDA tests 1 percent of the 35 million head of cattle slaughtered each year.



Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin have called for a review of BSE testing rules to restart Iowa's beef trade.



"I don't see a reason why processors who want to go above and beyond at their own expense shouldn't be allowed to do so," Grassley said.



It would be logistically easier for small plants like Creekstone, and possibly Tama, to conduct BSE testing than large plants. And it would give them a sales edge, so it's easy to see why large processors object. However, large companies have advantages too, such as economies of scale. They can weather down turns in profits better and sell meat cheaper because they have more of it.



David is simply trying to use size to his advantage. Unfortunately, Goliath doesn't see it that way.





Matthew Wilde is the Courier's agriculture writer.



wcfcourier.com
Top