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MAX THORNSBERRY: HOW IS R-CALF DOING ?

flounder

Well-known member
5/26/2009 7:53:00 AM



Max Thornsberry: How Is R-CALF Doing?



Chuck Jolley: You've just been elected to a second term as the head of R-CALF, this time by popular acclaim - a unanimous decision. Last time we talked, the organization was beset by rumors of its impending demise and a little infighting. We won't quote Mark Twain here but all seems well with R-CALF these days. What can you tell me about the management and the health of the organization?



Thornsberry: R-CALF USA was formed 10 years ago by cattle producers from across the nation who realized that we must fundamentally change the course of our U.S. cattle industry if we are to avoid the near-complete corporate control that has already befallen our hog and poultry counterparts. I was president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association when R-CALF USA formed, and our state association supported R-CALF USA’s initial anti-dumping case against Canada. I soon joined R-CALF USA myself and began serving as chair of our Animal Health Committee.



None of us in leadership positions fully comprehended just how monumental a task it would be to change the course of our cattle industry: the largest segment of U.S. agriculture. We faced fierce and persistent opposition from conventional trade associations, trade publications and conventional industry leaders. But, R-CALF USA’s members were equally determined and they took steps to ensure that R-CALF USA will continue to fight aggressively to protect and defend the independence of U.S. cattle producers.



Our members did this by passing resolutions that were very action oriented. For example, our members directed us to “stop” USDA from allowing over-30-month (OTM) cattle from Canada, to “demand” that all imported cattle and beef meet or exceed U.S. safety standards, to “demand” that the Plum Island research facility not be relocated to the mainland, and they adopted an aggressive slogan: “R-CALF USA: Fighting for the U.S. cattle producer.”



Not every individual is cut out to withstand the intense and constant attacks that R-CALF USA leaders face each time it advances a new initiative to accomplish its member-established policies. As a result, R-CALF USA went through a purging, and those who did not share the determination and resolve to continue the aggressive fight R-CALF USA had started soon broke from the organization. This has strengthened R-CALF USA, as it is no longer being pulled toward the conventional go-along-to-get-along type of organizational culture.



The numerous victories R-CALF USA has recently accomplished are a testament to its effectiveness and its unwavering commitment to fight aggressively to carry out member policy. R-CALF USA’s officers, directors, staff and committee chairs are an aggressive, dynamic group that is pulling together to permanently restore the opportunities for every independent U.S. cattle producer to remain profitable, without having to encumber their ranches, farms and cattle under a meatpacker production contract.













So Dr. Max Thornsberry decided to serve another term as the top gun at R-CALF. The challenges he faced in his first term were handled efficiently; the health of the organization is now unquestioned, something that was very much in questions when he first accepted the role. There is a strong and stable management team in place. The funding seems adequate.



The wars he intends to win are still out there, though. He’s led R-CALF into some battles, winning more than they lost but key issues like those pesky trade problems with Canada and making sure COOL is a permanent state of American Agriculture promise to be long-standing issues that won’t soon go away.



R-CALF has enough dedicated members to be a powerful political force. Many of them are more than willing to stand up and be counted on the issues that are important to them. Thornsberry knows how to make his points, too, when he sits down with politicos in Washington.



Any interview with him is a roll-your-sleeves-up-and-knock-the-dust-off kind of thing. Ask blunt questions, get blunt answers. I like that in a man. I don’t agree with everything he says but he does earn my respect.



My last interview with Thorsnberry was January 6, 2006. It’s time to go another round or two with him.



Q. You've just been elected to a second term as the head of R-CALF, this time by popular acclaim - a unanimous decision. Last time we talked, the organization was beset by rumors of its impending demise and a little infighting. We won't quote Mark Twain here but all seems well with R-CALF these days. What can you tell me about the management and the health of the organization?



A. R-CALF USA was formed 10 years ago by cattle producers from across the nation who realized that we must fundamentally change the course of our U.S. cattle industry if we are to avoid the near-complete corporate control that has already befallen our hog and poultry counterparts. I was president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association when R-CALF USA formed, and our state association supported R-CALF USA’s initial anti-dumping case against Canada. I soon joined R-CALF USA myself and began serving as chair of our Animal Health Committee.

None of us in leadership positions fully comprehended just how monumental a task it would be to change the course of our cattle industry: the largest segment of U.S. agriculture. We faced fierce and persistent opposition from conventional trade associations, trade publications and conventional industry leaders. But, R-CALF USA’s members were equally determined and they took steps to ensure that R-CALF USA will continue to fight aggressively to protect and defend the independence of U.S. cattle producers.



Our members did this by passing resolutions that were very action oriented. For example, our members directed us to “stop” USDA from allowing over-30-month (OTM) cattle from Canada, to “demand” that all imported cattle and beef meet or exceed U.S. safety standards, to “demand” that the Plum Island research facility not be relocated to the mainland, and they adopted an aggressive slogan: “R-CALF USA: Fighting for the U.S. cattle producer.”



Not every individual is cut out to withstand the intense and constant attacks that R-CALF USA leaders face each time it advances a new initiative to accomplish its member-established policies. As a result, R-CALF USA went through a purging, and those who did not share the determination and resolve to continue the aggressive fight R-CALF USA had started soon broke from the organization. This has strengthened R-CALF USA, as it is no longer being pulled toward the conventional go-along-to-get-along type of organizational culture.



The numerous victories R-CALF USA has recently accomplished are a testament to its effectiveness and its unwavering commitment to fight aggressively to carry out member policy. R-CALF USA’s officers, directors, staff and committee chairs are an aggressive, dynamic group that is pulling together to permanently restore the opportunities for every independent U.S. cattle producer to remain profitable, without having to encumber their ranches, farms and cattle under a meatpacker production contract.



Q. Let's talk about your second term. What do you want to achieve?



A. We will accomplish even more of our membership-developed policies. What we’ve learned in 10 years is that you don’t change the direction of the largest segment of U.S. agriculture overnight. It took us over seven years to finally implement country-of-origin labeling (COOL), and this battle is still not over given the recent international complaints filed by Canada and Mexico; we’ve filed three court cases over the past four years to prevent USDA from increasing our exposure to foreign animal diseases, and though we won three court-ordered injunctions, we’re still fighting to overturn the OTM rule and to strengthen our bovine tuberculosis (TB) border restrictions to protect our industry from USDA’s willful introduction of diseases and pests from Canada and Mexico.



Additionally, for more than six years we’ve fought to eliminate the meatpackers’ use of captive supplies – both packer-owned cattle and unpriced formula cattle. Although we haven’t yet accomplished this, we won two significant victories in this arena: the first ever Livestock Title in the 2008 Farm Bill requires a rulemaking to prohibit packers from granting undue preferences or advantage to select producers, and we convinced the Department of Justice and 17 state attorneys general to block the mega-merger between Brazilian-owned JBS and National Beef Packing Co.



What we’ve also learned since our inception is that it isn’t enough just to ask for change. You must also have the research to document and support your positions, and this is an area where R-CALF USA has excelled and it is why we have become such a credible and formidable force in Washington, D.C.



R-CALF USA will continue to inform Congress, the Administration and the public about what is wrong with our industry’s present course, why it must be redirected, and what the best way to accomplish this redirection is to ensure that our hundreds of thousands of independent producers can continue to profitably raise the healthiest cattle in the world.



Below are only a few of the immediate member-established policies we are fighting for, and we are positioned to achieve these goals in the foreseeable future:



* fully restoring the lost competition caused by industry concentration, consolidation, and vertical integration;



* ending the anticompetitive practices of the concentrated meatpackers;



* strengthening our border protections and domestic safeguards against the introduction and spread of foreign animal diseases:



* reforming trade policies to recognize the supply sensitive nature of our industry;



* and improving the safety of the beef derived from our healthy cattle are a few of the immediate member-developed policies we are fighting for and are positioned to achieve in the foreseeable future.



Q. R-CALF has always been an adamant opponent of NAIS. With a new administration in office and Tom Vilsack in the USDA hot seat, the politics of Animal Identification have changed. Also, Vilsack is on a seven city listening tour to "hear producers’ concerns for the proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) as well as to hear producers’ solutions for enhancing animal disease traceability." What will he hear from R-CALF members?



A. The reason USDA did not implement a mandatory National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in 2006 as was then planned, or anytime since, is because R-CALF USA members across the country have fought for over five years to effectively build a groundswell of opposition against it. The previous Administration mistakenly believed it could literally “buy” producers’ support by paying millions to state governments and conventional industry trade associations to sign up cattle producers. But the independence of U.S. cattle producers is alive and well and according to a February 2009 USDA “Info Sheet,” only 16 percent of the nation’s 750 million beef cattle operations had registered their “premises” under the program.



R-CALF USA met with Secretary Vilsack in February and asked him to cease all agency efforts to implement NAIS as one of three specific actions we asked the Secretary to take in the first few months of his Administration. We are pleased the Secretary has decided to investigate this issue on his own through his scheduled listening sessions.



Importantly, R-CALF USA’s success so far in preventing mandatory NAIS is the result of the volumes of research we have done to debunk the baseless claims made by USDA, the packers and conventional industry supporters. For example, USDA and its industry allies erroneously claim NAIS is needed because the average time spent by USDA to conduct traceback investigations was 199 days. This is a startling but false statistic and has become the NAIS proponents’ chief rallying cry.



However, R-CALF USA’s extensive research, which is included in my recent congressional testimony, revealed that USDA’s own Inspector General found that USDA’s disease investigations were hampered because of agency management problems: USDA failed to collect ear tags at the time of slaughter, was not timely using its oversight tools, was not reviewing regular summaries submitted by states, was not following federal regulations, was not requiring slaughtering facilities to conduct surveillance, was not monitoring high-risk herds, was not monitoring on-farm testing, and was not providing sufficient training to disease investigators.



R-CALF USA members continue to lead the fight against NAIS, and you will hear from them that NAIS is fundamentally flawed, is an international marketing program disguised as a disease program, is an un-American and unconstitutional encumbrance on free enterprise, will reduce competition, will accelerate the ongoing exodus of producers from the cattle industry, is unworkable and not economically feasible, and will, in fact, hamper legitimate disease traceback investigations.



Q. The relationship between R-CALF and certain other cattle organizations has occasionally been a bit 'prickly.' Would you comment on how R-CALF will deal with them in the future, especially on issues where there might be some disagreement?

A. R-CALF USA makes no apologies for aggressively fighting to accomplish its member policies that run counter to the objectives of conventional cattle organizations. If we look at the state of our U.S. cattle industry we find that it is unhealthy and has been unhealthy for decades.



Just in the last 12 years, since 1996, cattle producers have exited the industry at the rate of nearly 19,000 operations per year, our cattle herd size has shrunk by 9 million head even while beef demand and beef consumption were increasing, our production of beef produced exclusively from U.S. cattle has remained stagnant, and the cattle producer’s share of the consumer beef dollar has recently fallen to 2002 levels while consumers continue paying near record prices for beef.



It is clear that the strategies and policies our industry has been following are wrong -- dead wrong -- and we need to stand up against those who are desperately trying to keep us on the same destructive path that we’ve been following blindly.



Unfortunately, some of the conventional cattle organizations and their allied packers are leading the resistance against our efforts to accomplish needed changes. But, fortunately, we have nevertheless prevailed on many of our members’ policies. For example, over their objections we have enacted COOL, delayed for over two years the resumption of higher-risk Canadian cattle imports, blocked for the first time in decades a mega-merger between meatpackers, and very recently prevented a delay of the upgraded feed ban necessary to mitigate the increased risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that we assumed when USDA prematurely reopened the Canadian border to OTM cattle and then allowed those cattle to enter our U.S. feed system.



The other cattle organizations have also blocked us from eliminating anticompetitive captive supplies, including packer-owned cattle, from including needed safeguards in trade agreements, and from reversing the OTM rule. We foresee contentious battles against these groups on the near horizon as we continue our aggressive fight to accomplish these important goals.



Q. When I first interviewed you a little over 4 years go, I asked you this question: "You own TNT Cattle Company, which is a feeder calf preconditioning business, and AvanCo Feeds, a veterinary and nutrition company. It is a unique position that lets you look at the cattle business from two perspectives. What have you learned in the last 10 years?"

Let me ask the question again, slightly altered, of course. You've spent a lot of time on R-CALF business since that interview and the industry has seen a lot of changes. So what's new? What have you learned since that first interview? And what's going on with TNT and AvanCo?

A. A little over 4 years ago, R-CALF USA had just won its second court-ordered injunction that prevented USDA from resuming imports of Canadian cattle while Canada continued to detect BSE in its cattle herd. At that time, with high-risk imports removed from our domestic herd for almost two years, U.S. cow/calf producers, backgrounders, stockers and feeders were experiencing record cattle prices. Soon thereafter the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association entered our lawsuit in support of USDA’s efforts to resume trade in Canadian cattle, and our injunction was ultimately overturned. Canadian imports of under-30-month cattle resumed in mid-2005 and imports of OTM cattle resumed in late 2007.



By 2008, despite the continued liquidation of the U.S. cattle herd, which generally triggers higher cattle prices, and despite increased export sales, which industry analysts say increase domestic cattle prices, domestic cow/calf producers began experiencing a significant decline in calf prices, which decline continues through today. In addition, U.S. cattle feeders have experienced long-run, persistent losses. While prices to producers have been depressed, with 5-weight cattle prices falling well below the 5-year average, retail beef prices paid by consumers soared to record highs in mid-2008 and remain well above the 5-year average today. And, as stated previously, the produces share of the consumer’s beef dollar has now slipped back to 2002 levels – to a mere 42 percent in the first quarter of 2009.



What has changed since 4 years ago is that the benefits R-CALF USA brought to our industry by fighting to prevent exposure to the increased risk of disease introduction associated with Canadian cattle imports have now been undone by the other cattle associations. Rather than to experience a continued recovery from the terribly depressed prices leading up to 2003, domestic cattle producers are again plagued by lower cattle prices and our U.S. cattle industry continues to contract.



As a veterinarian, backgrounder and feed store owner I have recently experienced losses from the sale of my cattle just as other backgrounders and feeders have experienced. In addition, I have witnessed the ongoing exodus of cattle producers from our industry – my neighbors and customers – and I continue to hear the disappointment expressed by fellow cattle producers who know that the only reason our industry is not vibrant and profitable is because we are following a destructive path that leads only to more corporate control.



Q. After reading your guest editorial in the North Platte Bulletin where you wrote "Horse owners should know why the National Animal Identification System is being forced on their industry," I came away with a feeling that you and, perhaps, R-CALF, have an isolationist point-of-view when it comes to international trade. Certainly some detractors have tried to make that claim. Exactly what are your thoughts when it comes to NAFTA, OIE and WTO?

A. NAFTA has hurt the U.S. cattle industry by exposing our U.S. cattle herd to the introduction of foreign animal diseases and pests – BSE from Canada and TB and Mexican fever ticks from Mexico. It has also hurt our industry economically. When beef derived from the millions of live cattle imports from Canada and Mexico is added to the beef that is imported directly, NAFTA countries account for over half of the total U.S. trade deficit in cattle and beef.



In 2008, our total U.S. trade deficit in cattle and beef (including beef derived from imported cattle) was over 2.3 billion pounds by volume and -$1.6 billion in value. To put this in perspective, this volume deficit is the equivalent of about 3 million head of fed cattle. Our industry is highly sensitive to supply changes and the rule of thumb is that for each 1 percent increase in fed cattle numbers, fed cattle prices would be expected to decrease by 2 percent. It is clear to R-CALF USA and other critical thinkers that this ongoing trade deficit, which has persisted since 1998 in value and for an even longer period in volume, is literally killing our industry.



It is quite an irony that the folks who label R-CALF USA as isolationists are the same folks who fought against us and supported USDA’s decision to prohibit U.S. meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from voluntarily testing for BSE so it could increase its export potential. They are also the same folks who fought against us on COOL and argued that providing consumers with information about where their food originates was protectionist.



R-CALF USA fights to rebalance our trade deficit and to preserve the sovereignty of the United States, the states, and our U.S. cattle producers. We strongly oppose any action by the WTO or the OIE that would, in any way, weaken our sovereign right to establish laws and standards that we deem necessary to protect the safety and security of our food supply.

If international organizations establish standards contrary to the best interests of U.S. citizens, then U.S. standards should prevail. We also believe that any nation that desires to import cattle or beef into the United States must meet health and safety standards that are equal to or greater than those in the United States, regardless of what standards the WTO or OIE establishes for the purpose of facilitating more trade.



R-CALF USA takes a very pragmatic approach to international trade: if an international trade standard undercuts our sovereignty or our ability to maintain a viable and profitable domestic cattle production industry, we will oppose it. Importantly, R-CALF USA is pursuing a trade policy that would remedy the specific trade problems facing the U.S. cattle industry without harming trade and we’ve joined with domestic U.S. manufacturers to accomplish our mutual trade objectives. R-CALF USA is unique in that it is not beholden to any ideological belief that would justify pursuit of a theory even in the face of undisputable and contravening facts.



Q. Thousands of people read Cattlenetwork. What would you like to say to them?



A. Your readers, whether they are consumers or cattle producers, hold the key to the future of the U.S. cattle industry and, hence, the future security of our meat supply. R-CALF USA is pulling our industry away from its present course toward industrialization and corporate control. The difference between our vision and that of organizations that want to stay the present course couldn’t be greater.



While we continue to chalk up victories for our members, the greatest obstacle we face in accomplishing our goals in Washington, D.C., is a mathematical challenge – we refer to it as the 10:30 challenge. R-CALF USA has approximately 10,000 voluntary members, but our major opponent claims membership of about 30,000. I would encourage every one of your readers to quickly join the organization they believe best represents their vision for the future.



Membership numbers are extremely important to Washington, D.C., decision makers and by the simple act of becoming a member of the organization of your choice, you will have more influence than you can possibly imagine over the future of your cattle operation, the U.S. cattle industry and your food supply.

May you all have a blessed and profitable year.





http://www.cattlenetwork.com/alpharma_Content.asp?ContentID=317358





http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?ContentId=317013







>>> "You own TNT Cattle Company, which is a feeder calf preconditioning business, and AvanCo Feeds, a veterinary and nutrition company. <<<









2008 SUMMARY REPORT
Commercial Feed Inspections





snip...





Federal BSE-GMP Agreement


The Missouri Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Feed and Seed entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to do federal Bovine Spongiform Encephalepathy (BSE) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) inspections. Our inspectors underwent training and are now certified to perform inspections as Federal Department of Agriculture BSE Inspectors. The first contract period ran October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008. During that time, 61 FDA inspections were performed in Missouri with that information forwarded to the FDA office in Kansas City. An additional 17 state BSE inspections were performed in keeping with our goal of checking compliance every six months at facilities handling prohibited mammalian protein.





snip...





SAMPLES # #


COMPANY / PRODUCT TAKEN PASS FAIL TYPE OF VIOLATION(S)


169-014 AVANCO, LLC/THORNSBERRY INVESTMENTS


P O BOX 818, RICHLAND, MO 65556


0010 AVANCO BEEF CATTLE SALT MIX 1 1 (1-Crude Protein)
0016 AVANCO COW KEEPER 2 2
0028 AVANCO GOAT & KID DEVELOPER 1 1 (1-Crude Protein)
0033 AVANCO L.L.C. RICHLAND CALF RECEIVER MEDICATED 3 1 2 (2-Crude Protein) (1-Lasalocid)
0067 AVANCO PE MINERAL MIX WITH IGR FOR FLY CONTROL MEDICATE 1 1
0025 AVANCO PINKEYE MINERAL MIX MEDICATED 1 1
0039 AVANCO SHEEP AND LAMB DEVELOPER 1 1
0034 AVANCO 12% CATTLE FATTENER 2 2
0055 AVANCO 14-7 PASTURE MINERAL MEDICATED 3 2 1 (1-Vitamin A) (1-Lasalocid)
0049 RICHLAND CALF RECEIVER WITH CORN MEDICATED 2 2
0056 13.0% CRUDE PROTEIN BULL DEVELOPER MEDICATED 1 1 (1-Lasalocid)
0007 13.0% CRUDE PROTEIN CALF CREEP FEED MEDICATED 3 1 2 (2-Crude Protein)
0044 13% SUPER STOCK HORSE FEED 2 2
0002 14-7 PASTURE MINERAL 2 2
0012 16% CRUDE PROTEIN HOG GROWING DIET 2 2
0057 16% CRUDE PROTEIN LAYER MASH 2 2
---- ---- ----
29 21 8 72.41% PASSED





snip...





http://www.mda.mo.gov/pi/pdf/feedsummaryreport.pdf







> 72.41% PASSED







Does this mean that 27.59 % OF AVANCO, LLC/THORNSBERRY INVESTMENTS FEED SAMPLES FAILED IN 2008 ???







Saturday, April 11, 2009

CJD FOUNDATION SIDES WITH R-CALFERS NO BSE OR HUMAN TSE THERE OF IN USA 'don't be fooled'



Greetings CJD Voice,

PLEASE be aware, R-CALFERS don't believe the USA has mad cow disease. R-CALFERS believe that the only problem in North America is in Canada, and that it's all Canada's fault. R-CALFERS ALSO believe that no human TSE in the USA is caused by eating beef. R-CALFERS only believe in the UKBSEnvCJD only theory. so in my humble opinion, they kinda mirror the CJD Foundations beliefs. dont' be fooled. fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. oh, it looks pretty, but please, i urge everyone here, do not be fooled. 569 members of CJDVOICE and only a few in a click communicates amongst themselves with the cjd foundation (the new one, not cele's old cjd foundation). why was this not posted on the cjd foundation web site (i may have missed it, but could not find it on homepage)? are they not proud that they have now sided with a cattle group that refuses to acknowledge the problem with mad cow disease in the USA, or a human TSE there of ? or maybe this is why it took over a decade or more to get a cjd questionnaire that would ask real questions pertaining to route and source of agent, as opposed to just how and by whom it was diagnosed?


i do not now, and will not ever support a partnership with R-CALF about any TSE, until they stand up and look at themselves in a mirror and admit that the USA is in the same boat as Canada, and that the USA also has a mad cow problem. the sham that took place in 2004, the so called extensive USA BSE surveillance program, was just that, a sham, and proved to be just that. the feed ban was just as much a sham, and proven to be so.


do not be fooled cjdvoice, please do not be fooled.


Bullard and r-calf et al, should stop worrying about Canada, and worry about their own back yard. stop covering up mad cow disease and using the SSS policy. if they would have taken care of business back in 1997, we would not be discussing this. Until a BSE Inquiry is addressed here in the USA against the USDA/FDA et al, and a true enhanced BSE Surveillance and testing program be put forth, we still will never no how many mad cows the USA really have $$$ the last enhanced BSE surveillance program was put forth, even the top prion Scientist said it was terribly flawed, and still is.


i said it a long time ago, ALL CATTLE FOR HUMAN AND ANIMAL CONSUMPTION SHOULD BE TESTED FOR 5 YEARS IN A ROW, before we know to a true extent, just what kind of problem we have. and all the rules and regulations on the mad cow feed ban will not work, unless they are strongly enforced, with severe ramifications when the rules are broke. stupidity is not acceptable anymore. ...



see full text ;



http://prionunitusaupdate2008.blogspot.com/2009/04/cjd-foundation-sides-with-r-calfers-no.html


Sunday, April 12, 2009

r-calf and the USA mad cow problem, don't look, don't find, and then blame Canada


http://prionunitusaupdate2008.blogspot.com/2009/04/r-calf-and-usa-mad-cow-problem-dont.html


Docket No. FDA2002N0031 (formerly Docket No. 2002N0273) RIN 0910AF46 Substances Prohibited From Use in Animal Food or Feed; Final Rule: Proposed


http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/04/docket-no-fda2002n0031-formerly-docket.html


CJDVOICE AND CJDFOUNDATION MEMBERS,

FOR all these reasons, is why i oppose the CJD Foundation decission to side with a cattle company that over the years, was as responsible for exposing the USA consumer to mad cow disease as was Canada, and then submit a letter that was written and in support of blaming only Canada. This letter the CJD Foundation supports and ask you to write, is only in support of R-CALF and a closed market to Canada beef, ALL THE WHILE IGNORING AND NOT SAYING A WORD OF PAST AND PRESENT FAILLURES OF THE SAME THING HERE IN THE USA. don't be fooled CJDVOICE. if you support this letter the way it was written, you are only fooling yourselves. you are being played like a pawn. write your own letter/comment, tell them the rest of the story. THIS IS NOT ABOUT CANADA ! the only reason we don't find mad cow disease in the USA, is because they did everything they could do in NOT finding BSE in those some 800,000 cattle that were tested. even Paul Brown called it flawed. dont be fooled cjdvoice and cjd foundation members, don't be fooled. ...

CANADA DID NOT KILL MY MOTHER, AND HER DEATH WAS NO SPONTANEOUS EVENT, OR HAPPENSTANCE OF BAD LUCK. ...

r-calf talks the talk NOW, but they need to practice what they preach at home. clean up their own backyards, stop worrying about Canada. the USA and Canadian cattle market, feed market, import and export between the two, were so intertwined, it was one market. Canada is just being honest, they are testing to find, and finding. the USDA et al did just the opposite, and or years and years that was o.k. with R-CALF. Canada's feed ban is stronger that the USA's feed ban. the only reason the USA is not finding mad cow cases of any phenotype is because of the SSS policy of shoot, shovel, and shut the hell up. ...

BSE MRR TSS, R-CALF ON CANADA VS USA

Bill Rancher

Joined: 10 Feb 2005 Posts: 1418 Location: GWN Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:49 am Post subject:

Texan wrote:

Hey Terry, I'd like to get a little further clarification on something if/when you have time. I'm not sure if I'm reading you correctly....

flounder wrote:

This is what sank my battleship in regards to testifying for r-calf. they actually appoached me about it, but i told them i would be glad to testify, but i was not stopping at the Canadian border, my testimony was to come south as well if given the opportunity. and that ended that, but i did supply them with a load of data, for whatever that was worth.

I highlighted the parts that confuse me. This almost makes it seem as if R-CALF was asking you to testify for them, but changed their mind when they found out that you were going to tell the WHOLE truth, instead of just the truth as regards Canadian imports.

I thought that R-CALF was only interested in the WHOLE truth - not just the selected parts of the truth that fit their protectionist agenda? After reading your post, it makes a person wonder. Maybe I read it wrong...

Am I reading this correctly, Terry? That can't be right, can it? Thanks.

I was wondering exactly the same thing Texan.

_________________

Canadian Beef....A cut above the rest!

my answer to big muddy from canada ;

hello there Texan,

yep, you read it right. don't know what ya'll gonna do without me. you know i plan on retiring from this mess soon. the pay is simply too excessive ;-( i fed them all i had at the time, and they shot the teacher. then hired old stanley i heard, go figure, must have been all those PhDs i had ;-)

as with the fuji-tv, when they came here and interviewed me for a BSE show, that i don't know what happened too, or the madcowboy documentary i was asked to proofread, and did, assured i would get some credit for, to never hear from again, to the speech in south Korea i was to make Nov. 23, but was shipwrecked somehow there too, and that might have been a good thing considering all the riots, and they did get the information anyway, to the TSS documentary, that too fell apart for good reasons i suppose, to helping creekstone, and finally to the NIH attempted destruction of an historical bank of donated tissue from CJD victims, and that one i think i did manage to stop, and that thanks to a Republican John Cornyn, i simply think it's time to let you fellars and gals clear this mess up. i have wasted enough time. it will be a decade next Christmas. i just would hate to keep kicking the same old mad cow. i know what happened for the most part, and the ones that don't get it now, never will.

now there Texan, as far as your question, and confusion ;-) i bet you thought i was not going to answer it, or, maybe hoping i would ;

flounder wrote:

This is what sank my battleship in regards to testifying for r-calf. they actually appoached me about it, but i told them i would be glad to testify, but i was not stopping at the Canadian border, my testimony was to come south as well if given the opportunity. and that ended that, but i did supply them with a load of data, for whatever that was worth.

I highlighted the parts that confuse me. This almost makes it seem as if R-CALF was asking you to testify for them, but changed their mind when they found out that you were going to tell the WHOLE truth, instead of just the truth as regards Canadian imports.

I thought that R-CALF was only interested in the WHOLE truth - not just the selected parts of the truth that fit their protectionist agenda? After reading your post, it makes a person wonder. Maybe I read it wrong...

Am I reading this correctly, Terry? That can't be right, can it? Thanks.

=========================================================

hello again there Texan,

i don't guess it matters anymore, i don't think ill be testifying for anyone, unless it is my own execution.

i was willing to participate in good faith, and sound science, that is why i think i was never sent to testify,

because in my opinion, R-Calf only wanted to cherry-pick the science, to use to there advantage, to try and

claim that Canada had a worse BSE problem than the USA, and i could not conceed to that. the science did

not confirm this. all one has to do is read the BSE GBR risk assessments, and that is why GW/OIE et al revised

there own risk assessments ;-) the BSE MRR policy.

i don't know, maybe i misinterpreted it all, maybe not, you can be the judge ;

oh what tangled webs we weave, when all we do is practice to deceive. ...TSS

SNIP...END... SEE FULL TEXT ;

***


http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15704&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=12


http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15704&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=24


http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15704&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=36


http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15704&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=48




Sunday, May 10, 2009

Identification and characterization of bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases diagnosed and not diagnosed in the United States


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/05/identification-and-characterization-of.html



Thursday, March 19, 2009


MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF MAD COW FEED IN COMMERCE USA


http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2009/03/millions-and-millions-of-pounds-of-mad.html


Sunday, May 10, 2009


Meeting of the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Committee On June 12, 2009 (Singeltary submission)


http://tseac.blogspot.com/2009/05/meeting-of-transmissible-spongiform.html



Monday, May 4, 2009


Back to the Past With New TSE Testing Agricultural Research/May-June 2009


http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/2009/05/back-to-past-with-new-tse-testing.html



Sunday, April 12, 2009 TRANSMISSION OF ATYPICAL BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY (BSE) IN HUMANIZED MOUSE MODELS


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/04/transmission-of-atypical-bovine.html



Wednesday, February 04, 2009


Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease presenting as severe depression: a case report


http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2009/02/creutzfeldt-jacob-disease-presenting-as.html



CJD QUESTIONNAIRE USA CWRU AND CJD FOUNDATION


http://cjdquestionnaire.blogspot.com/



WHO WILL FOLLOW THE CHILDREN FOR CJD SYMPTOMS ???


Saturday, May 2, 2009

U.S. GOVERNMENT SUES WESTLAND/HALLMARK MEAT OVER USDA CERTIFIED DEADSTOCK DOWNER COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/05/us-government-sues-westlandhallmark.html



Sunday, April 12, 2009 BSE MAD COW TESTING USA 2009 FIGURES Month Number of Tests

Feb 2009 -- 1,891

Jan 2009 -- 4,620

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/hot_issues/bse/surveillance/ongoing_surv_results.shtml



SEE FULL TEXT ;


http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/2009/04/bse-mad-cow-testing-usa-2009-figures.html





Monday, May 4, 2009

Back to the Past With New TSE Testing Agricultural Research/May-June 2009



http://madcowtesting.blogspot.com/2009/05/back-to-past-with-new-tse-testing.html




Sunday, May 10, 2009

Identification and characterization of bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases diagnosed and NOT diagnosed in the United States


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/05/identification-and-characterization-of.html




Monday, May 11, 2009


Rare BSE mutation raises concerns over risks to public health


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/05/rare-bse-mutation-raises-concerns-over.html



TSS
 
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