Border rancher
Well-known member
I wonder what R Calf will come up with as facts this time to discredit Canadan beef and the whole Canadian meat industry?
R-CALF honing strategy in fight against Canadian cattle imports
EDMONTON (CP) - A group representing 18,000 independent American cattle producers will push the courts and Congress to close the U.S. border again to Canadian beef.
Since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a temporary ban on young Canadian cattle imports July 14, people in both countries have been anxiously waiting to see how R-CALF will respond to the ruling.
President Leo McDonnell said while details are still being worked out, the broad plan is to head back to court and to lobby Congress against a U.S. Department of Agriculture ruling that has allowed young cattle from Canada to be shipped again across the border.
The border war began in May 2003, after a cow with bovine spongiform encephalitis - or mad cow disease - was found in an Alberta cow.
"This case is not against Canadians," McDonnell said from his ranch near Columbus, Mont. "This case is against the USDA. This is about a rogue agency liberalizing our import standards in the extreme to the point where we have some of the lowest import standards in any modern beef consuming country."
R-CALF maintains the USDA rule does not adequately protect American consumers and cattle herds.
McDonnell said his group has two basic legal options.
It can file for a rehearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court and hope that a broader group of judges will consider more scientific evidence which R-CALF says bolsters its case.
Or it could continue to push for a permanent injunction against Canadian beef before District Court Judge Richard Cebull in Montana.
It was Cebull who granted the temporary injunction last March that delayed the resumption of the trade in live Canadian cattle.
Three appeal court judges overturned that ruling, saying he should have respected the expertise of the USDA about the safety risks of Canadian beef for BSE.
Cebull has not said if he will dismiss the application for a permanent injunction or order a new hearing.
Another strategy would involve going after the USDA rule in Congress.
Last winter R-CALF began a petition drive which passed in the Senate, but stalled in Congress before it came to a vote.
"We may start out with a gentler approach, trying to nudge the USDA in the right way," said McDonnell, who declined to be specific.
"If the USDA is not responsive we will go to a tougher stance. We may try to legislate some changes."
Other members of R-CALF's 10-member board of directors say the group faces hard choices.
Chuck Kiker, a director from Texas, said dealing with Congress is tough because of the powerful meatpackers' lobby that favours the renewed live cattle trade with Canada.
But going before the 9th Circuit Court wouldn't be easy either, he said.
"They are considered one of the most radical or liberal courts in the United States," Kiker said from his ranch near Beaumont.
Kathleen Kelley, a director from Meeker, Colo., wondered about their chances of winning a case before the appeal court.
While McDonnell was adamant R-CALF hasn't made a final decision, he suggested they may have a better chance laying the case before Cebull again.
"Judge Cebull is kind of an ultra-conservative judge and I have always felt very comfortable with his decisions," he said. "He is a very fair man and we will see what happens."
Canadian producers say every day that live cattle cross the border undermines R-CALF's contention that the trade is hurting the American market.
More than 33,000 head of cattle have crossed into the U.S. during the past few weeks with little effect on beef prices, said Dennis Laycraft, executive director of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
He expects those numbers to soon average up to 12,500 cattle per week.
Consumer confidence in beef on both sides of the border remains high, he said.
"They (R-CALF) had 'the sky-is-falling argument', and that clearly didn't happen," Laycraft said.
"And in June the U.S. confirmed their own domestic case of BSE. The longer this goes, what were already suspect arguments become even more suspect."
R-CALF will make its final decision on its response in the next few weeks, McDonnell said.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
R-CALF honing strategy in fight against Canadian cattle imports
EDMONTON (CP) - A group representing 18,000 independent American cattle producers will push the courts and Congress to close the U.S. border again to Canadian beef.
Since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a temporary ban on young Canadian cattle imports July 14, people in both countries have been anxiously waiting to see how R-CALF will respond to the ruling.
President Leo McDonnell said while details are still being worked out, the broad plan is to head back to court and to lobby Congress against a U.S. Department of Agriculture ruling that has allowed young cattle from Canada to be shipped again across the border.
The border war began in May 2003, after a cow with bovine spongiform encephalitis - or mad cow disease - was found in an Alberta cow.
"This case is not against Canadians," McDonnell said from his ranch near Columbus, Mont. "This case is against the USDA. This is about a rogue agency liberalizing our import standards in the extreme to the point where we have some of the lowest import standards in any modern beef consuming country."
R-CALF maintains the USDA rule does not adequately protect American consumers and cattle herds.
McDonnell said his group has two basic legal options.
It can file for a rehearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court and hope that a broader group of judges will consider more scientific evidence which R-CALF says bolsters its case.
Or it could continue to push for a permanent injunction against Canadian beef before District Court Judge Richard Cebull in Montana.
It was Cebull who granted the temporary injunction last March that delayed the resumption of the trade in live Canadian cattle.
Three appeal court judges overturned that ruling, saying he should have respected the expertise of the USDA about the safety risks of Canadian beef for BSE.
Cebull has not said if he will dismiss the application for a permanent injunction or order a new hearing.
Another strategy would involve going after the USDA rule in Congress.
Last winter R-CALF began a petition drive which passed in the Senate, but stalled in Congress before it came to a vote.
"We may start out with a gentler approach, trying to nudge the USDA in the right way," said McDonnell, who declined to be specific.
"If the USDA is not responsive we will go to a tougher stance. We may try to legislate some changes."
Other members of R-CALF's 10-member board of directors say the group faces hard choices.
Chuck Kiker, a director from Texas, said dealing with Congress is tough because of the powerful meatpackers' lobby that favours the renewed live cattle trade with Canada.
But going before the 9th Circuit Court wouldn't be easy either, he said.
"They are considered one of the most radical or liberal courts in the United States," Kiker said from his ranch near Beaumont.
Kathleen Kelley, a director from Meeker, Colo., wondered about their chances of winning a case before the appeal court.
While McDonnell was adamant R-CALF hasn't made a final decision, he suggested they may have a better chance laying the case before Cebull again.
"Judge Cebull is kind of an ultra-conservative judge and I have always felt very comfortable with his decisions," he said. "He is a very fair man and we will see what happens."
Canadian producers say every day that live cattle cross the border undermines R-CALF's contention that the trade is hurting the American market.
More than 33,000 head of cattle have crossed into the U.S. during the past few weeks with little effect on beef prices, said Dennis Laycraft, executive director of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
He expects those numbers to soon average up to 12,500 cattle per week.
Consumer confidence in beef on both sides of the border remains high, he said.
"They (R-CALF) had 'the sky-is-falling argument', and that clearly didn't happen," Laycraft said.
"And in June the U.S. confirmed their own domestic case of BSE. The longer this goes, what were already suspect arguments become even more suspect."
R-CALF will make its final decision on its response in the next few weeks, McDonnell said.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
