Tracking our beef
Despite concerns, some understand need to protect food supply
By Mike Corn
Hays Daily News
ZURICH - Darrell Sutor has been a rancher - raising Herefords on his Rooks County ranch - for "about a lifetime."
But he understands the importance of government intervention when it comes to health-related issues in the cattle business.
"I think being able to trace back is necessary," the 86-year-old rancher said. "When it comes to health, we've got to have the government involvement."
That's about as far as Sutor - wearing cowboy boots and hat - is willing to go. He could be considered old school; he maintains a deep disdain for government paperwork.
Despite that, Sutor's family is on the cutting edge as far as technology is concerned. His daughter, Lorna Pelton, travels the countryside performing ultrasound checks on cattle - Angus, primarily - to improve genetics and determine the ideal time to market the animals.
Darrell Sutor of Sutor Hereford Farms, a longtime beef producer in northwest Kansas, talks about his production operation as his herd grazes in a field of triticale on his ranch located southwest of Zurich in Rooks County. Photo by Steve Hausler, Hays Daily News.
In fact, Sutor is utilizing his first polled Hereford on the ranch, and keeps 300 Angus cows for a southwest Kansas rancher and cattle feeder.
But he's not so keen on government programs that offer subsidies to livestock producers hit by the drought and other weather-related calamities."It gets so complicated I just gave up," he said of the programs.
That's not the case with everyone.
Over the years, cow-calf operators didn't want the government sticking its nose in the cattle business, since few, if any, government subsidies - such as those going to their crop-growing brethren - would roll their way.
Today, cattlemen are getting small subsidies and giving only lukewarm acceptance to state and federal programs designed to help investigators determine where an animal has been over the course of its life.
The animal identification programs were brought to the forefront because of discoveries of mad cow disease - bovine spongiform encephalopathy - in Canada and the United States.
Yet those in the industry say it's more important for outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, for instance, and for acceptance into niche markets, such as trade with Japan.
Although the welcome sign might be weathered by the years, it still welcomes guests to Sutor Hereford Farms, a historic beef production ranch that has been producing beef for more than 100 years. Photo by Steve Hausler.
Currently, the identification programs strictly are voluntary and include any place with cattle - whether they have hundreds scattered across thousands of acres or are little more than a 4-H project with a steer out in the backyard.
Kansas is home to about 27,000 beef producers, two-thirds of them with fewer than 50 animals. Less than 200 have more than 500 animals.
"If you've got a barn and a couple pens, that's a premise," said Matt Teagarden, on the staff of the Kansas Livestock Association.
If everyone - from big ranchers to 4-H'ers to dairy farms and feedlots - registered under the state's premise identification plan, Teagarden thinks the total might hit 40,000.
The goal is to use ear tags that automatically read via radio signal. If a problem develops, records attached to that tag ultimately lead investigators back through the life of the animal - even back to the farm where it was born.
The federal plan envisions adoption of mandatory identification programs by 2008, but no movement in that direction has been taken. Kansas has its own voluntary plan and is supposed to remain flexible to dovetail with the federal plan.
* * *
You can almost hear KLA spokesman Todd Domer bristle when asked about the tradeoff of subsidies in exchange for government intervention.
"Our people are pretty gun shy about wanting direct payments for the products they produce," Domer said. "It's the independence - the independent streak that tends to run through ranchers."
KLA likely is the leading trade association for cattlemen in the state, although the Kansas Cattleman's Association is gaining ground in the push. Both are working with their respective national organizations to tailor an identification program that would benefit cattle producers and still allow researchers the tools needed to trace cattle through the system in the event of catastrophic illnesses.
Federal and state regulators currently are developing systems designed to register premises for identification purposes. Both at the national and state levels, the efforts purely are voluntary.
While a number of ranchers have signed up, the program has not received widespread acceptance. That fits with Sutor's belief that ranchers might be reluctant to participate.
"You're not going to get (to) every farmer - unless you have under the penalty of law - and that's not a good thing either."
But Sutor thinks identification for disease-related issues is important.
"There's so many diseases, and you never know what a screwball from overseas is going to dump on us," he said.
For Mike Schultz, a board member of the KCA, the recent outbreak of E. coli in California-grown spinach is frightening enough, "because I think they'll try to attach that to the manure deal."
Much of the focus of the investigation into the outbreak, which sickened nearly 200 people and killed three, centered on manure from livestock farms adjoining the vegetable farms from where the tainted spinach came. Exactly how the bacteria got onto the spinach is uncertain, although animals, such as wild pigs, and tainted water supplies have been identified as possible sources.
While neither the KLA nor the KCA welcome government intervention, spokesmen say they understand the possible need.
For Schultz, a Brewster rancher who maintains a 110-head cow-calf operation and alfalfa farm, the answer rests not so much on animal identification as country of origin labeling.
"If we can control what comes in, we can control what comes out," he said of the food supply in the United States.
* * *
Identification is a key issue for the KLA, and Teagarden is spending plenty of time working as a go-between for the group's members and the Kansas Livestock Commission, headed by George Teagarden, his father.
"The big push is animal health and trace-back systems," Matt Teagarden said of the government's involvement in the voluntary and confidential animal identification system.
For cattlemen, though, the draw is the markets that the identification process might open.
"It's more than a tag in the ear," he said.
If the process puts money in the pockets of producers, "they're more inclined to participate," Teagarden said.
Without the market forces, he said, "it's tougher to justify the costs for some producers."
Currently, Kansas is registering premises - anyplace where cattle are kept, no matter how big or small.
"That's the first step in tracking," Teagarden said.
While KLA actively is involved in the identification process, Teagarden said the United States is well behind similar efforts in Canada and Australia, two beef competitors.
The question now, he said, is whether a voluntary system will generate enough participation to make the plan work.
"There may be a point," Teagarden said, "when the industry has to ponder the question: Are we getting enough under voluntary systems or will it have to be mandatory?
"It's pretty hard to tell a producer to put an electronic tag in when it may never be read again."
The ultimate goal of the tracking system is to determine the background of cattle within 48 hours.
That's not the case now.
"It might take a couple weeks rather than a couple days," Teagarden said.
The KCA is working in tandem with its national association, R-CALF, for a livestock identification program that will benefit the nation's cattlemen.
But, Schultz cautioned, the KCA doesn't fully support identification programs.
"Personally, I'm not in favor of it," he said. "If everyone does it, the profit will be gone. I'm more concerned with country-of-origin labeling rather than identification. If we control the border then we don't need identification."
Schultz said cattle producers already have their animals inspected. His herd, for instance, is looked over twice a year by veterinarians.
"I'm not a big fan of identification," he said. "I think there's people in it just for the money. It's not a safety deal.
"I think we're raising good quality beef. We've eliminated a lot of headaches with ultrasound."
But as for identification, he doesn't expect widespread acceptance - not until a premium is there to make it worth the extra expense and effort.
In fact, Schultz thinks only 30 percent to 40 percent of the cattle producers will adopt identification.
"There's so many people with 25 cows," he said of the smaller producers who won't participate. "The big guys don't care."
12/11/2006; 02:37:34 AM
Despite concerns, some understand need to protect food supply
By Mike Corn
Hays Daily News
ZURICH - Darrell Sutor has been a rancher - raising Herefords on his Rooks County ranch - for "about a lifetime."
But he understands the importance of government intervention when it comes to health-related issues in the cattle business.
"I think being able to trace back is necessary," the 86-year-old rancher said. "When it comes to health, we've got to have the government involvement."
That's about as far as Sutor - wearing cowboy boots and hat - is willing to go. He could be considered old school; he maintains a deep disdain for government paperwork.
Despite that, Sutor's family is on the cutting edge as far as technology is concerned. His daughter, Lorna Pelton, travels the countryside performing ultrasound checks on cattle - Angus, primarily - to improve genetics and determine the ideal time to market the animals.
Darrell Sutor of Sutor Hereford Farms, a longtime beef producer in northwest Kansas, talks about his production operation as his herd grazes in a field of triticale on his ranch located southwest of Zurich in Rooks County. Photo by Steve Hausler, Hays Daily News.
In fact, Sutor is utilizing his first polled Hereford on the ranch, and keeps 300 Angus cows for a southwest Kansas rancher and cattle feeder.
But he's not so keen on government programs that offer subsidies to livestock producers hit by the drought and other weather-related calamities."It gets so complicated I just gave up," he said of the programs.
That's not the case with everyone.
Over the years, cow-calf operators didn't want the government sticking its nose in the cattle business, since few, if any, government subsidies - such as those going to their crop-growing brethren - would roll their way.
Today, cattlemen are getting small subsidies and giving only lukewarm acceptance to state and federal programs designed to help investigators determine where an animal has been over the course of its life.
The animal identification programs were brought to the forefront because of discoveries of mad cow disease - bovine spongiform encephalopathy - in Canada and the United States.
Yet those in the industry say it's more important for outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, for instance, and for acceptance into niche markets, such as trade with Japan.
Although the welcome sign might be weathered by the years, it still welcomes guests to Sutor Hereford Farms, a historic beef production ranch that has been producing beef for more than 100 years. Photo by Steve Hausler.
Currently, the identification programs strictly are voluntary and include any place with cattle - whether they have hundreds scattered across thousands of acres or are little more than a 4-H project with a steer out in the backyard.
Kansas is home to about 27,000 beef producers, two-thirds of them with fewer than 50 animals. Less than 200 have more than 500 animals.
"If you've got a barn and a couple pens, that's a premise," said Matt Teagarden, on the staff of the Kansas Livestock Association.
If everyone - from big ranchers to 4-H'ers to dairy farms and feedlots - registered under the state's premise identification plan, Teagarden thinks the total might hit 40,000.
The goal is to use ear tags that automatically read via radio signal. If a problem develops, records attached to that tag ultimately lead investigators back through the life of the animal - even back to the farm where it was born.
The federal plan envisions adoption of mandatory identification programs by 2008, but no movement in that direction has been taken. Kansas has its own voluntary plan and is supposed to remain flexible to dovetail with the federal plan.
* * *
You can almost hear KLA spokesman Todd Domer bristle when asked about the tradeoff of subsidies in exchange for government intervention.
"Our people are pretty gun shy about wanting direct payments for the products they produce," Domer said. "It's the independence - the independent streak that tends to run through ranchers."
KLA likely is the leading trade association for cattlemen in the state, although the Kansas Cattleman's Association is gaining ground in the push. Both are working with their respective national organizations to tailor an identification program that would benefit cattle producers and still allow researchers the tools needed to trace cattle through the system in the event of catastrophic illnesses.
Federal and state regulators currently are developing systems designed to register premises for identification purposes. Both at the national and state levels, the efforts purely are voluntary.
While a number of ranchers have signed up, the program has not received widespread acceptance. That fits with Sutor's belief that ranchers might be reluctant to participate.
"You're not going to get (to) every farmer - unless you have under the penalty of law - and that's not a good thing either."
But Sutor thinks identification for disease-related issues is important.
"There's so many diseases, and you never know what a screwball from overseas is going to dump on us," he said.
For Mike Schultz, a board member of the KCA, the recent outbreak of E. coli in California-grown spinach is frightening enough, "because I think they'll try to attach that to the manure deal."
Much of the focus of the investigation into the outbreak, which sickened nearly 200 people and killed three, centered on manure from livestock farms adjoining the vegetable farms from where the tainted spinach came. Exactly how the bacteria got onto the spinach is uncertain, although animals, such as wild pigs, and tainted water supplies have been identified as possible sources.
While neither the KLA nor the KCA welcome government intervention, spokesmen say they understand the possible need.
For Schultz, a Brewster rancher who maintains a 110-head cow-calf operation and alfalfa farm, the answer rests not so much on animal identification as country of origin labeling.
"If we can control what comes in, we can control what comes out," he said of the food supply in the United States.
* * *
Identification is a key issue for the KLA, and Teagarden is spending plenty of time working as a go-between for the group's members and the Kansas Livestock Commission, headed by George Teagarden, his father.
"The big push is animal health and trace-back systems," Matt Teagarden said of the government's involvement in the voluntary and confidential animal identification system.
For cattlemen, though, the draw is the markets that the identification process might open.
"It's more than a tag in the ear," he said.
If the process puts money in the pockets of producers, "they're more inclined to participate," Teagarden said.
Without the market forces, he said, "it's tougher to justify the costs for some producers."
Currently, Kansas is registering premises - anyplace where cattle are kept, no matter how big or small.
"That's the first step in tracking," Teagarden said.
While KLA actively is involved in the identification process, Teagarden said the United States is well behind similar efforts in Canada and Australia, two beef competitors.
The question now, he said, is whether a voluntary system will generate enough participation to make the plan work.
"There may be a point," Teagarden said, "when the industry has to ponder the question: Are we getting enough under voluntary systems or will it have to be mandatory?
"It's pretty hard to tell a producer to put an electronic tag in when it may never be read again."
The ultimate goal of the tracking system is to determine the background of cattle within 48 hours.
That's not the case now.
"It might take a couple weeks rather than a couple days," Teagarden said.
The KCA is working in tandem with its national association, R-CALF, for a livestock identification program that will benefit the nation's cattlemen.
But, Schultz cautioned, the KCA doesn't fully support identification programs.
"Personally, I'm not in favor of it," he said. "If everyone does it, the profit will be gone. I'm more concerned with country-of-origin labeling rather than identification. If we control the border then we don't need identification."
Schultz said cattle producers already have their animals inspected. His herd, for instance, is looked over twice a year by veterinarians.
"I'm not a big fan of identification," he said. "I think there's people in it just for the money. It's not a safety deal.
"I think we're raising good quality beef. We've eliminated a lot of headaches with ultrasound."
But as for identification, he doesn't expect widespread acceptance - not until a premium is there to make it worth the extra expense and effort.
In fact, Schultz thinks only 30 percent to 40 percent of the cattle producers will adopt identification.
"There's so many people with 25 cows," he said of the smaller producers who won't participate. "The big guys don't care."
12/11/2006; 02:37:34 AM