2010 response to reg framework traceability

[kato]

This is how I came to my opinion on FMD in the U.S. affecting Canada.

From farms.com

* Canada – U.S. beef exports to Canada were up 15 percent in volume (70 million pounds) and 35 percent in value ($187.7 million) for the quarter, and on a similar pace in March. Canadian cattle slaughter was down 10.6 percent through April of 2011 as years of herd liquidation have limited beef production.*

That's 70 million pounds of American beef sent to this country in one quarter. Not a year.... a quarter.

If they have it, traceability here will not help us. It will be assumed that infected beef has already crossed the border. There are just too many meat products and people traveling back and forth to segregate these two countries, especially with such a contagious disease.

[grassfarmer]

Kato, the beef off FMD cattle is considered safe so that is really not an issue. In any case the border would be closed immediately and US exports stopped so it would only concern beef recently imported while the disease was incubating. The only way it could become an issue theoretically to our livestock is if some FMD cattle were processed in the US and evaded detection, the beef was shipped here and some raw scraps found their way to a hog opperation who wasn't processing their swill at the proper temperatures - pretty slim odds of that all happening. The risk is live animal movement and also people, livestock trucks or machinery that harbor moist dirt or material that could be contaminated.
It is critical that we know the whereabouts of any imported cattle in Canada to protect ourselves from bringing in FMD. We need a system that traces not only cattle born here but those imported too.
If an outbreak as described above came about it would be like BSE in reverse. A border closed to US exports, potentially many US cattle destroyed but many more held under movement restrictions. The US could potentially be short of beef very quickly and Canada would be well placed to fill that market. We might see the record high prices that the US producers received in 03/04.

[BTOfarmallll]

Stick this in yer Pipe & Smoke it people. Breaking News. Foot & Mouth Disease is ONLY contagious fer 1.7 days per cow. Not nearly as long as first thought. Now a whole different way of dealing with outbreak control of this Disease. And yous call yerselves Cow Guys, ain't even one fer years & I know more than yous, Christ......