Why Isn't That Border Open?

[cowman]

Hit the nail on the head cowman. NDP has no agricultural policy, and it doesn't seem that the Liberal ag policy extends to the beef industry in Alberta.
Conservatives have been too busy spinning their wheels to have much of an ag policy but I do give them credit for lobbying for the opportunity to present a position paper at the court case in the US.

Until the Ontario farmers start declaring bankruptcies, due to BSE don't look for the feds to make any attempt to get the border open. I am not sure exactly what our own provincial government is doing at this time, hopefully not sitting with their hands folded resigned to the border not being open for two years !

[farmers_son]

For some time I have been of the view that the border will open when it is in the best interest of the United States to open it. From a fair trade or science standpoint there seems to be little politicians of any stripe on the North side of the 49th parallel could do to see fair trade resume.

And while we could argue partisan politics such as the border is closed because the NDP has no agriculture policy or the border will not open until BSE affects Ontario I would argue that the border will open because not to open threatens U.S. consumer’s confidence in beef, not to mention delaying the resumption of normalized trade with American foreign customers and causing job losses at home as packing plants lay off workers and reduce kill days.

I believe the expectation is that the border will open on July 13. The Appeal of the R-Calf Injunction gives the Americans a face saving way out of the whole R-Calf mess. While the border should have opened immediately, if there was any sense of fairness, to do so would have highlighted how unfair the Americans treatment of Canada has been since May 20, 2003.

It has been my impression that the less we hear in the press from government or our industry associations the more that is actually taking place behind the scenes. Certainly the Texas Brahma has leveled the playing field when it comes to BSE, that positive test will make a huge, huge difference.

We should name that cow “Open Sesame” because she opened the border. How about erecting a bronze statue of her at the Coutts border crossing. Maybe being led by an Alberta cattleman with his hand and digit finger held high where our American friends can see it.

[farmers_son]

And what possible good would that do ? If the border opens we need to get on with business, forget US bashing. We need them and they need our cattle.

[farmers_son]

If you mean we should forget BSE and the Americans treatment of Canadian beef producers, the outright lies, the deception and the blatant protectionism then I would disagree. Those SOBs had BSE all along and they darn well knew it.

It will never be business as usual with the Americans. Canada will continue to increase its packing capacity in this country. Dependence upon live cattle trade across international borders will decrease. And while my suggestion of a bronze of the U.S. cow that forced the Americans to admit they had BSE was tongue in cheek we should never forget the multi billion dollar lessons learned at the heavy hand of the Americans. The border can be closed and it will be closed again. And even if the border opens on July 13, it will still not be open and fair trade.

A statue showing Canadian and especially Alberta producers defiant in the face of oppression by the largest super power in the world still has appeal to me. I will not soon forget.

Maybe it would be better if the cowboy was riding the cow. Think of it this way, the Americans have tanks, we have cows. No reason we should not have a statue of a cow, even a representation of a U.S. cow, pointed at the U.S. of A.

[pandiana]

As I posted earlier, I don't think getting the border open is a 'done deal' quite yet despite finally finding a US positive. We still have to deal with the fact that R-Calf's case is against the USDA
6/27 "The positive test helps to vindicate most Canadians assertion that BSE is a North American problem. Without a doubt it helps to level the playing field to some degree.

We could further speculate that the reason the incidence is still lower in the US (although statistically there is no significant difference) would be the differences in the risk level of the animals being tested. Downer animals are not allowed into plants and to my knowledge, they do not have a 4D program.

On the other hand, this is not all good news. R-calf has quickly changed the emphasis from BSE incidence in Canada and the associated health risk to focus USDA's ineptness.

As this lawsuit is against USDA's rule making to allow Canadian imports, their offense will no doubt be to discredit USDA's ability to make any rule regarding importation of cattle if they can't even get testing right on there side of the border. The two courts refusal to allow intervenor status to ABP/CCA, NMA and others, highlights the fact that this action is against USDA in its narrowist sense and will be defined by the specifics of whether USDA's rule was properly made. I think Willowcreek points this out.

I am not confident that the logic of a North American catle industry will pervail in the court room."

Possibly more to the point, as our killing capacity for UTM reaches sufficient capacity to handle production, we are still left without OTM capacity sufficient to afford competition...as has been pointed out many times before. As OTM will still not be covered by the USDA 'rule' at this point I am not sure what benefit opening the border will ensure, especially as farmers_son points out with all the caveats attached to exports.

In addition, I am most certainly in agreement with those that point out that BSE is not the only problem facing cattle production. Lack of profitability for the primary producer which is linked to the lack of leverage in price setting remains our most fundamental problem, now and in the future.

[kato]

Isn't one of the reasons the border is closed to OTM cattle the fact that they don't have segregated kill lines?

Now if we take that to the next logical step, assuming they actually want to come up to standard, that should mean the United States should mandate segregated kill lines in their country too. I would expect Japan etc. will insist on it.

The biggest worry that we face now is the fact that the U.S. system moves so slowly that it's hard to tell if it's moving at all.

I think the will is there now to open up, but they always get so bogged down in procedures that it's ridiculous.

[pandiana]

Very interesting point, Kato. Another case of a double standard.

I wonder how much this would cost an already stressed packing industry if they had to refit to accomodate segregation of OTM's?

I do hope Japan does put pressure on them! I haven't heard what is happening with Mexico or Japan since the US positive test results.
The pressure that US was putting on Japan just prior to this news must really be irritating considering the result.

[Willowcreek]

pandiana- I agree with most of what you said about the pending court actions. I question whether any of the multinational packers really care about the Japanese trade as this article points out.

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Today 7/4/2005 10:22:00 AM


Jolley: Does Japanese Beef Trade Hinge On The Board Room Or The Back Room?



How serious are the Aussies about keeping their share of the beef market in Asia? Dead serious. They’re putting more international marketing money on the table as we wrestle in the courts over funds to just cover the U.S.



Here’s a quote from an article in the Adelaide Advertiser called Mad cow campaign needs beefing up. “The transaction levy paid by beef cattle farmers is set to rise by more than 40 per cent to fund a marketing campaign to shore up export markets, following confirmation of a second case of mad cow disease in the US.”



The article mentioned Australian beef imports to Japan had jumped 41% to a record $2.2 billion and 90% of Japan’s beef imports – more than half of Australia’s export business.



Beef Industry Funding Steering Committee Chairman Don McDonald said, "Because Australia is free of this disease (BSE), there could be opportunities for us to take and hold more of the Japanese market, because the US will be kept out for a while longer. But while there could be some short-term benefits, disease in any food chain doesn't inspire confidence," he said.



McDonald’s double-sided comment, at once both aggressive in expressing his intent to retain Asian market share and conciliatory in his desire to retain a solid relationship with his friends in the U.S., speaks to the common corporate ownership of the majority of the processing industry in both countries.



The key issue might not hinge on a pending Japanese decision about reopening trade with the U.S. It might not come from that proverbial smoke-filled back room where deals are traditionally made but from a few board rooms; can the world’s largest packers supply Japan more profitably from North America or Australia?

[cowman]

Willoe Creek: I assume by the hostile comments you get on this site you are probably R-CALF or at least sympathetic to their cause?
I have a couple of questions? Do you ever feel a little nervous about your secretary of agriculture? Especially his statement "The cow was from Texas....WE DON"T EXPECT TO FIND ANOTHER"!? What does that imply?
Also do you ever wonder, how come the US and Canada have BSE...but not Australia? If you believe grassfarmer you might suppose all the Aussie cows are running around eating whatever nature might provide and therfore are pristine? Or do you ever think...if you don't ever test anything...you will NEVER find a positive?
It would seem that the old three S approach is alive and well in many parts of the world? Maybe old Ralph was just stating reality when he suggested it?

[grassfarmer]

Hey Cowman when did I say Aussie cows only ate grass? I am aware they have a growing feedlot sector there as well as their extensive grazing operations. Not that feedlot age animals will be contracting BSE regardless of what they are eating - it just aint going to happen.
I just don't think we can accuse Australasia of having BSE just because North America and Europe have it - there is no proof or logic to do so. It may well be that their soils and other environmental factors do not give rise to the initial sporadic cases of BSE. I don't know how much, and from where, they may have imported MBM in the past. I thought, maybe wrongly, that because of their isolation they have maintained fairly high health status and haven't imported a lot of live cattle from Europe.

[farmers_son]

Willowcreek: Are you trying to say that the U.S. opening the border to our live cattle still depends upon Japan first resuming trade with the U.S.? American producers would be well advised to remember that 90% of their product is destined for their own domestic consumer. The number one priority is not trade with Japan but retaining consumer confidence at home. Calling Canadian beef and live cattle unsafe is counterproductive to maintaining consumer confidence in your own product now that it is accepted within the U.S. that you have BSE too. Outside of the U.S., the rest of the world has been going forward on the basis that BSE was a North American problem since December 2003.

Pandiana: Mexico has taken an identical position as Canada. Canada and Mexico are continuing trade in both beef and live cattle with the United States on the same basis as before the Texas Brahma.

I recognize that up to this point in time the sage advice has been that the border is not going to open. I do think there has been a fundamental change in the dynamics and politics as a result of the Texas Brahma. How can the Appeals Court uphold the injunction on Canadian beef and live cattle without raising red flags about the safety of U.S. beef? The Appeals Court could delay making a decision public until after the July 27 hearing in Montana with Judge Cebull but consider the consequences of such a move. The U.S. administration cannot have a Montana judge saying beef from a country that has a BSE positive is a danger to consumers. R-Calf’s argument that allowing live cattle into the U.S. from a country that has had a BSE positive will have economic impacts on U.S producers just does not hold water any longer. The U.S. has BSE now and the initial economic impact was minimal.

The logic of a North American market will not be considered in an American court room. However the logic of needing to make it clear to the U.S. consumer that BSE is not a cause for alarm will not be lost. The only question will be not be whether to allow Canadian live cattle into the United States but how quickly can Canadian cows and cow beef come across too. Part of the process involved with keeping consumers eating beef in the wake of this BSE positive will be a moderation of retail beef prices. Canadian live cattle will factor into that solution.

Further to the bronze statue of the Brahma cow I dubbed “Open Sesame”… Failing the statue idea, how about we erect a shiny new packing plant and we show those good old boys down south how we can kill cows up here. We could call the plant OSBC. If some wanted to think the initials stood for Ostercamp and Big C, that is OK. No one would need to know that the initials stood for Open Sesame, the Brahma Cow.

[Willowcreek]

cowman- I am an R-CALF member and supporter. Mainly because of the fraud involved with not having Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling- I supported NCBA when they also were pushing M-COOL, but they did too good a job with me- when they got bought out by the Packers and flip-flopped, I didn't. Its fraud to bring in products from another country and relabel them to pass them off as native product-PERIOD.
I can't believe Candadians haven't become aware of what is and will happen since we (US) signed AFTA, and are now full speed ahead to sign CAFTA, and FTOA.
Even tho Canada signed onto only NAFTA--Without M-COOL all this beef coming from these countries will be allowed to come into and thru the US and go to Canada unmarked or marked with the USDA stamp to pass off as a US product.

Can you in Canadda compete with $1.00 a day ranch labor, $2.00 a day slaughter house labor, and cattle raised in temperate climates that feed NO days of the year- especially when Cargill, Monsanto, Tyson Foods, etc. are investing billions to build up their crop, beef, feedlot and slaughter industries?

Over years the Texas Feeders (just another name for Tyson and boys) subsidiaries have bought US and Canadian genetics to improve their cattle- Leachman even had a South American office.

Go to the Cargill- Australia website--look at the investments they have and are making in all these countries with NO corporate, labor, and enviromental laws--Then tell me that you don't think that the "Big Boys" have been telling USDA and CFIA exactly what to do and say. Why have both fought so hard to test to export. They're making their profits off Australia now the same way they've made profits off Canada- and before that used Canada's lack of packer ownership and monopoly laws to manipulate the US cattle market..