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Schweitzer orders cattle inspection

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HAY MAKER

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Friday, August 5, 2005

Ag News: Livestock

Schweitzer orders cattle inspection upon border opening; cattle market takes a dip

HELENA, Mont. - Despite the concerns and legal actions of many cattlemen and farm groups, the Canada-U.S. border opened to live cattle imports last week.

The first few semi-loads of cattle entered the United States on Wednesday, July 18, two years and two months after the border closed to live cattle imports in May 2003 as a result of the discovery of a Canadian cow diagnosed with bovine spongiform encelepathy.

Almost immediately after the border was opened to live cattle imports, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer issued an order for inspection of Canadian cattle destined for Montana feedlots. The order states the Canadian cattle will be inspected as they are unloaded from sealed trucks at their destination to insure they are less than 30 months of age, are branded with the Canada brand and are not pregnant, explained Karen Cooper, Montana Department of Livestock public information officer. "They will be inspected upon arrival at a Montana destination," she said. "The Montana Department of Livestock will be in charge of inspecting them, with a veterinarian."

R-CALF USA applauded Schweitzer's order, while the Cattlemen's Network belittled it and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association questioned its legality.


"We are pleased that Gov. Schweitzer is taking the initiative to strengthen the rule to protect the reputation and safety of the domestic herd," said Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA chief executive officer. "The oversight by the State of Montana is particularly important given that formal comments were filed with U.S. Department of Livestock during the rulemaking process by a USDA investigator, who stated that current regulations were ineffective at preventing the loss of seals from sealed trucks and trucks arriving at slaughter plants with missing cattle. The USDA inspector stated this has resulted in the possibility that cattle were diverted."

Furthermore, Montana officials said they plan to authenticate various documents that accompany each animal to make certain any identification tags match up with the paperwork.

"Because the USDA acted prematurely in implementing this rule without making needed improvements, the State of Montana's action is necessary to fill in some of the many gaps left by the USDA," said Leo McDonnell, R-CALF USA president, "essential to protecting our U.S. cattle industry from the introduction of BSE from known sources of the disease."

However, not everyone agrees the order is a positive move. The Cattlemen's Network editor implies, in a story filled with editor's notes on the Cattlemen's Network Web site, Schweitzer made the order because R-CALF USA members are among his main supporters and they lost a dispute with the USDA over the closed border. And then the National Cattlemen's Beef Association questioned the legality of Schweitzer's order, clearly disagreeing with it.

Nevertheless, Canadian cattle are entering the United States feedlots, packing plants and markets.

"We saw the price drop $5 to $6 lower for the slaughter cow and bull markets," reported field man Brian Perry of Western Livestock Auction in Great Falls, Mont. "I don't believe that price drop was solely caused by the border opening, because there was a lot of boxed beef coming across the border prior to the recent border opening to live cattle."

Instead, Perry said he believes the cattle cycle has had an affect on the market price. "During this time of year, there are a lot of cattle coming into the slaughter market," he explained. "The cattle numbers are higher, and historically, this has driven the price down. We always see low market prices around this time, but probably not as low as we saw it last week."

In addition, Perry said there are other factors influencing the cattle market, such as freight costs. "Diesel prices are extremely high, which makes freight high," he explained. "There are a lot of other factors that can attribute to the lower prices."

However, Lyle Allen of the Lewistown Livestock Auction in Lewistown, Mont., said he believes the border opening "had a psychological affect on buyers, causing some down pressure on the market. We're just waiting and wondering what's going to happen next."

Perry said the cattle market has been on a downward trend since the USDA announced it was re-testing the brain sample from a Texas cow. That combined with the fact that the nation has had virtually no export market since December 2003, Perry said he doesn't see how else to punish the cattle market. "We're not exporting beef and we're increasing imports," he said. "Other countries have already absorbed what we lost in the world trade. I don't believe they're going to give it back to us after we lost it, we're going to have to fight for it and that's going to take years."

Personally, Perry said he sees the market staying at about the current level in the future. "I'm not sure we'll see a rally in the future," he said. "There is a lot up in the air right now."

 
A local feedlot has sent 18 loads of cattle to the States in the last two weeks.

Every single animal was owned by an American and was being sent home to finish. Not one animal was being sold by a Canadian to an American. Not one animal.

Yup, we're flooding the market. :wink:
 
"Bill Bullard said,

'We are pleased that Gov. Schweitzer is taking the initiative to strengthen the rule to protect the reputation and safety of the domestic herd.' "

If someone can help me, I need a clarification on the "safety" part. I often read about people in the U.S. thinking that Canadian cattle can "infect the herd."

I'm confused. I need to hear it again. How do Canadian cattle pose a safety ("infect the herd") risk?
 
You are catching on to Bullsh*t Bullard. The cattle that are coming into the US can not infect the US herd but that doesn't matter because the true has never mattered to Bullard or Leo. BSE is not an infectous disease and according to the rules in place ruminants are not to be fed back to other ruminants so should not spread by the only proven way of transmission. There is not risk to the US herd just Bullard trying to justify all the rest of the lies he and Leo have been spreading.
 
pointrider said:
"Bill Bullard said,

'We are pleased that Gov. Schweitzer is taking the initiative to strengthen the rule to protect the reputation and safety of the domestic herd.' "

If someone can help me, I need a clarification on the "safety" part. I often read about people in the U.S. thinking that Canadian cattle can "infect the herd."

I'm confused. I need to hear it again. How do Canadian cattle pose a safety ("infect the herd") risk?

Since we have big loopholes in our feedban (still feeding chicken litter to cattle, feeding table scraps to cattle, and allowing blood into milk replacer and other cattle feed) if an infected cow or parts of that cow ends up being rendered and fed thru these loopholes to cattle, they could become infected- further continuing the spread of the disease...From all I'm read- the science indicates they believe its easier for the prions to infect it from cow to cow than it is from cow to human...


Also in the past, some cattle sent for slaughter ended up going into the US herd because we don't have a national ID program to track them- and many states are much more lax on cattle movement and ownership transfers than Montana is......
 
pointrider said:
"Bill Bullard said,

'We are pleased that Gov. Schweitzer is taking the initiative to strengthen the rule to protect the reputation and safety of the domestic herd.' "

If someone can help me, I need a clarification on the "safety" part. I often read about people in the U.S. thinking that Canadian cattle can "infect the herd."

I'm confused. I need to hear it again. How do Canadian cattle pose a safety ("infect the herd") risk?

Do you actually think that there could be a reasonable explanation for a liar's words?
 
Kato said:
A local feedlot has sent 18 loads of cattle to the States in the last two weeks.

Every single animal was owned by an American and was being sent home to finish. Not one animal was being sold by a Canadian to an American. Not one animal.

Yup, we're flooding the market. :wink:


Kato your right on the money. I too can see that we are flooding the market in the US....... :wink: :roll:
 
BSE is not infectious, true though spread through feed, apparently American feed also has loopholes . So in reality its not the canadian beef thats the problam its the feed companys and there regulations.Its sooo simple regulate the feeding of animal parts how hard can that be for Canadian and American governments to understand. :???: :???:
 
greg said:
BSE is not infectious, true though spread through feed, apparently American feed also has loopholes . So in reality its not the canadian beef thats the problam its the feed companys and there regulations.Its sooo simple regulate the feeding of animal parts how hard can that be for Canadian and American governments to understand. :???: :???:

Who owns the feed companies...ConAgra? Cargill?
 
greg said:
BSE is not infectious, true though spread through feed, apparently American feed also has loopholes . So in reality its not the canadian beef thats the problam its the feed companys and there regulations.Its sooo simple regulate the feeding of animal parts how hard can that be for Canadian and American governments to understand. :???: :???:

You're right, Greg. The problem is that enforcement might cost somebody some money, and that is bad for trade. In this country, trade is more important than safety, the environment, etc...
 
Sandhusker said:
greg said:
BSE is not infectious, true though spread through feed, apparently American feed also has loopholes . So in reality its not the canadian beef thats the problam its the feed companys and there regulations.Its sooo simple regulate the feeding of animal parts how hard can that be for Canadian and American governments to understand. :???: :???:

You're right, Greg. The problem is that enforcement might cost somebody some money, and that is bad for trade. In this country, trade is more important than safety, the environment, etc...

And some of the so-called cattle organizations (NCBA) would rather keep slapping their partners at Conagra, Cargill, Tyson on the back- while praising what a good job USDA and FDA are doing :???: than fight to get rules into effect to protect the US herd and what could be the whole future of any North American beef program.........
 
Cattle producers should work together on both sides of the border to make sure these things dont get into the feed and not fight against each other.
 
Manitoba_Rancher said:
Cattle producers should work together on both sides of the border to make sure these things dont get into the feed and not fight against each other.

AMEN-- But I think most of your so called cattle groups are in the same big money pockets as NCBA is.............
 
Does the Canadian beef herd have more BSE than the U.S. beef herd? What percentage of the problem in each country so far has been directly linked to dairy cattle?
 
Oldtimer said:
pointrider said:
"Bill Bullard said,

'We are pleased that Gov. Schweitzer is taking the initiative to strengthen the rule to protect the reputation and safety of the domestic herd.' "

If someone can help me, I need a clarification on the "safety" part. I often read about people in the U.S. thinking that Canadian cattle can "infect the herd."

I'm confused. I need to hear it again. How do Canadian cattle pose a safety ("infect the herd") risk?

Since we have big loopholes in our feedban (still feeding chicken litter to cattle, feeding table scraps to cattle, and allowing blood into milk replacer and other cattle feed) if an infected cow or parts of that cow ends up being rendered and fed thru these loopholes to cattle, they could become infected- further continuing the spread of the disease...From all I'm read- the science indicates they believe its easier for the prions to infect it from cow to cow than it is from cow to human...

Oldtimer just how much BSE do you think is in the US? You have had these loopholes all along and now you have a twelve year old cow turn up with BSE. :? Could others like her not have spread the disease already. Kind of puts the R-CALF claim that Canadian cattle will put your industry at risk in a new light doesn't it? Some say that Canada should have to destroy every animal born before the feedbans to be safe. Now that the US has BSE confirmed in a native cow should they do the same? And since you have these big loopholes shouldn't that mean the US should have to destroy any animal older than thirty months just in case they ate some of the legal feed. Or should we go on the assumption that BSE is not as big problem as R-Calf would have everyone believe and that the precautionary measures that we have protected us from an epidemic that would warrant a mass cull. Beside, the animals that are coming into the U.S. right now are under thirty months and according to what I read they don't even carry enough BSE prions to be detected. And from what I read they are no risk.


Also in the past, some cattle sent for slaughter ended up going into the US herd because we don't have a national ID program to track them- and many states are much more lax on cattle movement and ownership transfers than Montana is......

How is that going to happen now Outtimer? Every animal entering the US from Canada will have a BIG C A N in the side so if a person was to take them out of a feedlot and put them in their herd wouldn't someone like you notice and turn the person in. :roll:

By the way you better stop Leo from going out and telling the consumers
don't worry we have had these firewalls in place for years, the only country prior to having a case of BSE to have these firewalls in place for so many years. And we did it to make sure if a case was ever found it was a non-issue.
If you are keep going on about those firewall loopholes the consumers may get confused and not know who to trust you or Leo. :wink:
 
pointrider said:
Does the Canadian beef herd have more BSE than the U.S. beef herd? What percentage of the problem in each country so far has been directly linked to dairy cattle?


The Canadian cases found in Canada were two beef (Black Angus and Charolais) and one Dairy, three in over two years. The US cases found in the US were one dairy cow from Canada and one bramha cross beef animal of US origin. And the answer to your first question is debatable as Canada is testing the catagory of cattle that are at the highest risk of having BSE and using the right tests. But both are in question in the US do they really test the right catagory of cattle with the right test to really show the true prevalence of BSE in the US herd. We just recieved a copy of a letter from the consumer Union to the USDA and by that letter I would have to say NO to both what they test and the test used to confirm. :???:
 
I got a real simple solution to this BSE deal!!!!!!!!! DO NOT EAT COW BRAINS and SPINAL TISSUE!!! I hope they never say BUD Light and KY Sour Mash causes MAD COW!!! WAIT a minute......it can cause you to go crazy!!! :roll:
 
Obviously the Canadian government also cares more about trade then safety..... look where it got us we were feeding feed we THOUGHT was regulated. Who in the end suffers, not the feed companys.Lets not fight each other lets fight for each other :lol:
 
Tam said:
Oldtimer said:
pointrider said:
"Bill Bullard said,

'We are pleased that Gov. Schweitzer is taking the initiative to strengthen the rule to protect the reputation and safety of the domestic herd.' "

If someone can help me, I need a clarification on the "safety" part. I often read about people in the U.S. thinking that Canadian cattle can "infect the herd."

I'm confused. I need to hear it again. How do Canadian cattle pose a safety ("infect the herd") risk?

Since we have big loopholes in our feedban (still feeding chicken litter to cattle, feeding table scraps to cattle, and allowing blood into milk replacer and other cattle feed) if an infected cow or parts of that cow ends up being rendered and fed thru these loopholes to cattle, they could become infected- further continuing the spread of the disease...From all I'm read- the science indicates they believe its easier for the prions to infect it from cow to cow than it is from cow to human...

Oldtimer just how much BSE do you think is in the US? Tam- I think it is very low but want to keep it that way leading to eradication- ...You have had these loopholes all along and now you have a twelve year old cow turn up with BSE. :? Could others like her not have spread the disease already. They could- but that doesn't mean that we should just throw open the gates to countries of higher incidence and higher risk and say now we got it, let it spread- especially from countries that are finding after feedban infected cattle and that have not adequately tested their cluster areas... Kind of puts the R-CALF claim that Canadian cattle will put your industry at risk in a new light doesn't it? Nope- the loopholes strengthen the argument of why we need to keep cattle out from countries that have it. Some say that Canada should have to destroy every animal born before the feedbans to be safe. Now that the US has BSE confirmed in a native cow should they do the same? No- I'd say test everything over 20 months until its extent is found- especially in the Alberta disease cluster area - or any other areas where clusters appear... And since you have these big loopholes shouldn't that mean the US should have to destroy any animal older than thirty months just in case they ate some of the legal feed. Or should we go on the assumption that BSE is not as big problem as R-Calf would have everyone believe and that the precautionary measures that we have protected us from an epidemic that would warrant a mass cull. Beside, the animals that are coming into the U.S. right now are under thirty months and according to what I read they don't even carry enough BSE prions to be detected. And from what I read they are no risk. If cattle under thirty months don't carry prions and don't test positive then how have the Japanese came up with 2 Under thirty month positives?


Also in the past, some cattle sent for slaughter ended up going into the US herd because we don't have a national ID program to track them- and many states are much more lax on cattle movement and ownership transfers than Montana is......

How is that going to happen now Outtimer? Every animal entering the US from Canada will have a BIG C A N in the side so if a person was to take them out of a feedlot and put them in their herd wouldn't someone like you notice and turn the person in. :roll: In some areas of the country they have no idea what a brand is or what it means- And with the lost confidence in the USDA Montana just wants to make sure the process is being done right and they aren't pulling a Vennaman by sneaking in outlawed Canadian materials again--Being from old horsethief country you must have heard of hairbranding...

By the way you better stop Leo from going out and telling the consumers
don't worry we have had these firewalls in place for years, the only country prior to having a case of BSE to have these firewalls in place for so many years. And we did it to make sure if a case was ever found it was a non-issue.
If you are keep going on about those firewall loopholes the consumers may get confused and not know who to trust you or Leo. :wink:
I don't care if you or whoever is confused-- I would like to see the US cattle herd protected by closing all the firewall gaps-- and especially since Canada is going to push for further opening of the border which could easily mean bringing in post feed ban infected OTM cattle which without the US firewalls all in place could mean a much higher risk of infecting our cattle- and putting a much higher long term risk on the entire beef industry in both the US and Canada....I also think both countries should be increasing their testing not lessening it...[b][/b]
 
You claim there are places in the US that don't know what a brand is so how can you use your brand system for a National ID system? :? And just how many of the USDA appoved feedlots that will be excepting these Canadian cattle would you say don't know that the cattle are to be branded with a C A N when they get off that truck and what it means? :? I would guess that there will be a paper trail of how many cattle were brought into the feedlot and how many are sent to slaughter and if the numbers don't jive someone will be out checking to see why. As far as the firewalls R-CALF seems to like to quote the OIE but they seem to forget the little OIE rule saying
"The importing country cannot be more trade restrictive than necessary to achieve the desired national level of protection, and that it's measures must not be different from those applied to products within the domestic market"
since our firewalls are stricter than yours, you can't us your firewall problems to hold up trading with us. Maybe R-CALF should have bought an Ad in the Washington Post to inform Congress of your loopholes instead of telling them about the Safest beef in the world because of your highest standards in the world. Maybe then they would have got to work on the loopholes instead of writing threatening letter to Japan for not taking your beef. And if you don't trust your system to produce safe beef why should Japan Korea or even Canada as far as that goes. Oldtimer did you bother to read the court of appeals ruling about R-CALF's arguments. Not one argument stood under appeal. You were the one that has been spouting let the courts decide. And they did, all three appeal court judges ruled against Cebulls ruling on all counts. So do you think the courts have spoke loud enough in saying this border should be open according to science and world trade rules? Let the courts Decide Oldtimer
 

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