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Ranchers.net

There was hope the U.S. Department of Agriculture would publish a new rule this fall that would pave the way for renewed shipments of older cattle and breeding stock starting next year.
Now the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and other groups are warning producers not to expect the border to fully reopen until some time in 2007 -- four years after mad-cow disease was discovered in an Alberta cow.
There were more than 900,000 surplus OTM cattle across the country as of last July, according to Statistics Canada.
Industry experts say the USDA wants to be extra careful in developing the new trade rule to ensure it can withstand lawsuits from protectionist groups such as R-CALF USA.
This year, R-CALF, which represents about 18,000 U.S. ranchers, went to court and temporarily derailed the USDA rule that eventually led to the border reopening in July to Canadian cattle under 30 months of age.
"USDA is very aware of the fact that R-CALF will probably direct litigation at this new rule and they are trying to make it as perfect as they can," said Darcy Davis, chairman of Alberta Beef Producers.
Canada's push for the second rule is based on the same premise that supported the current rule allowing the trade in young cattle to resume: risk factors for bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Canada are no different than in the United States.
John Masswohl, director of international relations for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, said he expects the USDA to conduct careful risk assessments before publishing its new rule, probably some time next summer.
With some U.S. beef processing plants laying off staff or shutting down due to a shortage of supply, re-establishing the full cattle trade with Canada would make dollars and sense.
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I bet packers have already got a plan for manipulating the markets with these OTM's, ...................good luck
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