http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/11/18/border-madcow.html
After more than four years of restricted trade following a mad-cow disease scare and an estimated loss of more than $1.7 billion, Canadian producers are looking forward to Monday's reopening of the U.S. border to older, live Canadian cattle and their meat products.
The move comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture ruled that the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canadian cattle is "negligible."
"The border opening is going to be tremendous for all purebred breeders and all breeds because the U.S. has been a fairly substantial marketplace for us," said Helge By, of By Livestock, who co-manages the Regina Bull Sale.
"Historically, before May of '03 when it closed, we would be selling 10 to 15 per cent of the bulls out of that sale to the U.S. every year. Of course, we've lost that market until now."
The border slammed shut when BSE was first found in an Alberta cow in May 2003, costing Canadian producers about $426 million a year.
Canadian cows under 30 months of age, deemed to be at less risk for BSE, have been allowed into the U.S. since July 2005. But older Canadian cattle and beef cuts from those animals had remained barred.
The trade rule to be implemented Monday allows the import of meat from all older animals and any live cattle born after March 1999 when a feed ban aimed at stopping the spread of BSE came into effect in Canada.
Brad Wildeman, vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, was taking a "cautiously optimistic" approach to the border reopening.
"It's going to take some time, I think, before the market channels get reopened," said Wildeman, who is also president of the Pound-Maker Feedlot in Lanigan, Sask., which has a capacity of 28,500 head.
"There's more regulations to get them down there and so there's going to be a little more work to them into those markets. We're not expecting a flood of cattle heading down there because of this."
The big winners, he said, will be breeders, the genetics industry and those who ship meat to the U.S.
"They've been locked out of both [the U.S. and Mexico], which were their No. 1 and 2 markets previously, and it's going to open these markets back up for them," said Wildeman.
By agreed, saying Mexico is anxious to get Canadian genetics back.
"We've been handcuffed not being able to ship cattle down there," By said.
"Since the announcement in September of the border opening, there has been a lot interest from Mexican delegations, not only in the beef industry but in the dairy industry," he said.
U.S. beef group supports trade resumption
In the U.S., the National Cattlemen's Beef Association — the counterpart to the Canadian Cattlemen's Association — has supported resuming trade.
But the rules and reopening don't please everyone.
"I don't feel that Canada has their feed ban in place yet the way that it should be," said Allen Lund, a long-time rancher in Selfridge, N.D. "The last-BSE positive cow to surface in Canada was born in 2003. Had the feed ban been in place, this shouldn't have happened."
Lund is also a member of R-CALF USA, the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, which is seeking an injunction to prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture from moving forward with the over-30-months rule.
The group argues that resuming trade increases the risk of infecting U.S. cattle.
"I don't think we're on the same playing field as far as BSE risk goes," said Lund. "I've seen it documented where Canada is 26 more times likely to have a cow test positive for BSE than the United States is."
Canada has had 10 mad cow cases
There have been 10 mad cow cases recorded in Canada and three in the U.S.
Lund said U.S. producers have just regained some of the foreign markets that had shut their doors and they fear what might happen if a case is imported from Canada into the U.S.
He's also concerned that the border reopening comes at the peak marketing time for U.S. cull cattle.
"We sold ours this week and normally we would have held onto them, put a little weight onto them," said Lund. "But we kind of got spooked at what's going to happen with this older cattle coming in from Canada, if it's going to put a glut on the market."
© The Canadian Press, 2007
After more than four years of restricted trade following a mad-cow disease scare and an estimated loss of more than $1.7 billion, Canadian producers are looking forward to Monday's reopening of the U.S. border to older, live Canadian cattle and their meat products.
The move comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture ruled that the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canadian cattle is "negligible."
"The border opening is going to be tremendous for all purebred breeders and all breeds because the U.S. has been a fairly substantial marketplace for us," said Helge By, of By Livestock, who co-manages the Regina Bull Sale.
"Historically, before May of '03 when it closed, we would be selling 10 to 15 per cent of the bulls out of that sale to the U.S. every year. Of course, we've lost that market until now."
The border slammed shut when BSE was first found in an Alberta cow in May 2003, costing Canadian producers about $426 million a year.
Canadian cows under 30 months of age, deemed to be at less risk for BSE, have been allowed into the U.S. since July 2005. But older Canadian cattle and beef cuts from those animals had remained barred.
The trade rule to be implemented Monday allows the import of meat from all older animals and any live cattle born after March 1999 when a feed ban aimed at stopping the spread of BSE came into effect in Canada.
Brad Wildeman, vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, was taking a "cautiously optimistic" approach to the border reopening.
"It's going to take some time, I think, before the market channels get reopened," said Wildeman, who is also president of the Pound-Maker Feedlot in Lanigan, Sask., which has a capacity of 28,500 head.
"There's more regulations to get them down there and so there's going to be a little more work to them into those markets. We're not expecting a flood of cattle heading down there because of this."
The big winners, he said, will be breeders, the genetics industry and those who ship meat to the U.S.
"They've been locked out of both [the U.S. and Mexico], which were their No. 1 and 2 markets previously, and it's going to open these markets back up for them," said Wildeman.
By agreed, saying Mexico is anxious to get Canadian genetics back.
"We've been handcuffed not being able to ship cattle down there," By said.
"Since the announcement in September of the border opening, there has been a lot interest from Mexican delegations, not only in the beef industry but in the dairy industry," he said.
U.S. beef group supports trade resumption
In the U.S., the National Cattlemen's Beef Association — the counterpart to the Canadian Cattlemen's Association — has supported resuming trade.
But the rules and reopening don't please everyone.
"I don't feel that Canada has their feed ban in place yet the way that it should be," said Allen Lund, a long-time rancher in Selfridge, N.D. "The last-BSE positive cow to surface in Canada was born in 2003. Had the feed ban been in place, this shouldn't have happened."
Lund is also a member of R-CALF USA, the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, which is seeking an injunction to prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture from moving forward with the over-30-months rule.
The group argues that resuming trade increases the risk of infecting U.S. cattle.
"I don't think we're on the same playing field as far as BSE risk goes," said Lund. "I've seen it documented where Canada is 26 more times likely to have a cow test positive for BSE than the United States is."
Canada has had 10 mad cow cases
There have been 10 mad cow cases recorded in Canada and three in the U.S.
Lund said U.S. producers have just regained some of the foreign markets that had shut their doors and they fear what might happen if a case is imported from Canada into the U.S.
He's also concerned that the border reopening comes at the peak marketing time for U.S. cull cattle.
"We sold ours this week and normally we would have held onto them, put a little weight onto them," said Lund. "But we kind of got spooked at what's going to happen with this older cattle coming in from Canada, if it's going to put a glut on the market."
© The Canadian Press, 2007
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