feeder said:
Any R-Calfers out there please check your e-mail and post the information about what they are learning down there. It is very interesting. I'm dumb at cutting and pasting things so if you could I'd appreciate it. The official web site doesn't have it posted yet. Thanks
June 27, 2005 Phone: 406-672-8969; e-mail:
[email protected]
CAFTA-DR Fact-Finding Team in Costa Rica
(San Jose, Costa Rica) – An R-CALF USA fact-finding team assigned to visit specific Central American nations to research and analyze support for, and the impact of, the U.S.-Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Friday, June 24. Members of the fact-finding team are: Dennis McDonald, R-CALF USA's International Trade Committee chairman, and president of the Montana Cattlemen's Association; R-CALF USA Director and Missouri veterinarian Max Thornsberry, who also chairs R-CALF USA's animal health committee; Joel Gill, R-CALF USA's state membership chairman for Mississippi, who also is vice president of Mississippi Order Buyers and president of the Mississippi Livestock Marketing Association; and, Doug Zalesky, Ph.D., a Colorado State University bovine research scientist and cattle producer from Colorado.
Initial findings from the task force examined the areas of cattle herd health measures, costs of production, cattle genetics and breeding techniques, along with the potential for cattle production expansion in Costa Rica.
"Costs associated with vaccines in Costa Rica are a fraction of U.S. costs, often for the same product from the same pharmaceutical company," said Thornsberry. "For example, Ivomec and Dectomax sell in Costa Rica for 60 cents a dose compared to $1.68 per dose in the United States.
"A worrisome fact is that various animal health products not permitted for use in cattle in the U.S. are commonly used in Costa Rica," he said. "An antibiotic called Ditrim is forbidden for use in food animals in the U.S., but it's a commonly used antibiotic in Costa Rica. Lepto vaccinations are supplied by the Costa Rican government, and other vaccines like anthrax, blackleg and pasturella are available at one-third the cost of similar products in the U.S."
Zalesky noted that costs of production for Costa Rican cattle producers are substantially less – about one-third – than those incurred by U.S. producers.
"This is a consequence of cheap labor ($6/day), and low feed costs," said Zalesky. "Costa Rican cattle can be kept on grass 12 months a year, with grasses varying in protein content from 12 percent to 22 percent, and no fertilizers are required due to the rich volcanic soil extending to a depth of 10 feet.
"Costa Rican cattle experience no climate change throughout the course of the year, which is a huge production advantage," Zalesky continued. "With no winter feed costs and little stress from seasonal climate changes, Costa Rican producers incur far fewer management costs, and the calving seasons here are coordinated with the lush green grass, providing another economic advantage."
Gill noted the genetic make-up of Costa Rican cattle rivals that of cattle in the United States.
"Frame scores result in mostly Yield Grade 2s that can compete on par with U.S.-fed cattle," said Gill. "Costa Rican ranchers have imported semen from the U.S. and they use artificial insemination techniques widely to breed a Brahman cross cattle herd that is efficient and tolerates tropical diseases successfully.
"The finishing ration used in Costa Rica relies heavily on local feed and is a mixture of poultry litter, rice hulls, molasses, corn and a mineral supplement," continued Gill. "Cost per pound of gain in Costa Rica is 15 cents. A big red flag went up in my mind when I discovered that meat, blood and bone meal are being fed to chickens and then the poultry litter is fed to beef cattle."
McDonald noted that the U.S. Trade Representative told U.S. cattle producers during consideration of the Chilean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Chilean cattle imports to the U.S. would not increase by virtue of the FTA.
"We now know their imports into the U.S. increased 200 percent," said McDonald. "Dr. Mantaro, a Costa Rican veterinarian, rancher and chief cattle procurement officer for one of the three largest Costa Rican packing houses, predicts that if CAFTA-DR is ratified and Costa Rica has free and unfettered access to U.S. markets, the Costa Rican cow herd will double within five years from 1.9 million head to 4 million head, with much greater capacity possible.
"Presently only one-half of the Costa Rican beef production is consumed within Costa Rica, and the balance is exported," McDonald said. "Any additional production will be exported, and the target is U.S. markets."
Other information discovered by the fact-finding team includes the fact Costa Rica universally uses a hot brand animal identification system that requires each animal to be branded at the point of sale – a system that allows for immediate trace back of all cattle.
"At the point of sale, the owner's brand is put on the animal upside down, which negates his ownership," said Zalesky. "The animal's hide carries the record of ownership of that animal. Here in Costa Rica they use a hot wire to brand the hide, and I have yet to see a smudged brand."
Costa Rica requires all imported meat products to be labeled as such in the retail case. Interestingly, when visiting a PriceSmart grocery outlet in San Jose, task force members viewed a banner in the store that declared a Costa Rican ban on all U.S. meat and poultry products, including canned and cooked U.S. meats.
"We'll be meeting with Costa Rican embassy staff to discuss this ban and the basis for it," commented McDonald.
PriceSmart is an American-owned company headquartered in San Diego.
"We greatly appreciate the hospitality and honesty of the Costa Rican producers we've met during our visit here," said McDonald.
The task force will travel to Nicaragua on Tuesday, June 28.
Note: Photos of the team are available in .jpg format. Contact R-CALF USA if you would like a copy.
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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA's membership consists primarily of cow-calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members – over 18,000 strong – are located in 48 states, and the organization has over 60 local and state association affiliates, from both cattle and farm organizations. Various main street businesses are associate members of R-CALF USA. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.