• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Ranchers.net

NEBRASKA: Mad cow rule may put farmers in dumps
02.jan.09
Omaha World-Herald
Leslie Reed
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10527808
LINCOLN -- Nebraska's state veterinarian is among those worried that dead cattle could be left to rot in windbreaks or ditches because of a federal regulation intended to prevent mad cow disease.
Mad cow disease is being studied in the lab, but work also must be done in the field, where livestock producers grapple with new restrictions on carcass disposal.
The new rule, which takes effect April 27, says cattle over 30 months of age can't be rendered for animal feed unless their brains and spinal cords are removed first.
The Food and Drug Administration regulation is intended to prevent the prions that cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, from slipping into livestock feed and causing an outbreak in cattle. Prions are found in the brain and spinal cord.
The rendering truck is a popular method for disposing of cattle that die before going to market. But some fear that rendering companies may stop picking up dead cattle or that higher fees will discourage farmers from calling a rendering company when an animal dies. The result could be dead cattle that are illegally dumped.
"It's going to be a major problem, " said State Veterinarian Dennis Hughes, who works for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. "We fear farmers are going to be hauling them into shelterbelts or ditches, to make good coyote food."
Although the rule will cause disposal challenges, the FDA maintains that the rule is needed to control the spread of mad cow disease.
"It's safe to say there will be changes across the rendering industry," said Ross Hamilton, director of government affairs and technology for Darling International, a national company that provides rendering services in eastern Nebraska.
Cook said rendering companies probably will begin eliminating the banned material in early February so that their supply lines will be clear by April 27. He said he didn't know how many companies will adopt procedures to remove the material from older cattle and how many will simply stop accepting carcasses of cattle that fall under the restrictions — those older than 30 months.
Lonnie Johnson, owner of Nebraska Byproducts of Lexington, said he intended to continue picking up dead animals for his customers.
"If we don't do that, I have a fear we're going to see a lot of dead stock lying in canyons and ravines and that type of thing," he said.
Top