Border to open!

[cowman]

Caught a little blurb on one of the American stations(I have Direct TV) that said the Canadian and Mexican border would open to American beef within days! However the US border would not open to live Canadian cattle just yet, as they have reopened the comment period due to the CANADIAN cow that just happened to end up in Washington! Then they had this indignant senator from one of the Dakotas get on and smear the Canadian system and state we'd better get our act cleaned up if we ever expected to export another animal to the US! His exact words "They kill a cow and let her head sit on a shelf for 4 months before they test her. I don't think I want any meat coming into the USA from a country like that"!
I can only assume that the Canadian border will open to American cattle and all beef products from this report. If this is so, what is our federal government thinking? Are they totally insane?

[jensend]

more politics at work

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/25/national/nationalspecial2/25COW.html?th

[kato]

Senator Dorgan has made a career of slagging Canada. I have had it with this guy!

North Dakota's ONLY tourism industry consists of Canadians. Americans never go there. A lot of them don't even know where it is! I know, because we've been in the States, and if people ask where Manitoba is, we say "Just north of North Dakota" Half the time they get a blank look on there face, and say OK... as if they aren't sure where that is.

And yet, this guy has never said one good thing about Canada. I think it's time to make some noise in North Dakota. Time to boycott Minot, Grand Forks, and Fargo... and tell them why we aren't coming back. A lot of people from Regina go to Minot for weekend holidays. Maybe they should be told that this senator is bound and determined to see our rural economy go down the tubes. People from Winnipeg, who go to Grand Forks and Fargo should be told the same thing. I bet three or four hundred hotel rooms cancelled on the same day would get someone's attention.

I saw him on CBC news last night, and thought it was nice the way the announcer cut in after his clip and said that Senator Dorgan complained about how our cow took so long to be tested, but conveniently forgot that our cow stayed out of the food chain, and theirs did not.

[kato]

Here's an interesting news release.

NEW YORK, Feb 25, 2004 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX) -- The U.S. administration pressured Department of Agriculture experts to approve the resumption of Canadian beef imports last August before an American study on its safety was done, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Quoting an anonymous senior scientist at the department, the Times noted that Canadian beef had been banned from the United States after a case of mad cow disease appeared in Canada last May.

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman offered to lift the ban on boneless beef from Canada in August, saying a "thorough scientific analysis" had been done and that "our experts have determined that the risk to public health is extremely low."

The scientist told the Times Veneman's statement "really frosted me - that she said we'd done it when I knew in fact that we hadn't."

The scientist also said there had been pressure from Veneman's office to approve cattle from Mexico at risk of tuberculosis, pears from China with fungus problems, in addition to boneless meat from Canadian cattle, calves, sheep and goats, as well as hunters' kills.

The claim was disputed by Alisa Harrison, spokeswoman for Veneman, who said the agriculture secretary did not direct scientists to make findings. And the administrator of the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, Bobby Acord, said he had never been told to make science fit a policy decision.

Harrison said Veneman's words had not been meant to imply that the department had done its own analysis.

"The Canadians did their investigation," she said. The department relied on it because international experts were on the panel and American scientists in Canada observed it, she said.

"The secretary fully respects the judgment of scientists and would never force them by saying, 'Here's a policy decision, now make it work'," Ms. Harrison said. "But she's very inquisitive and asks a lot of hard questions."

The Times said an American study on Canadian beef was being done but it was not issued until October. A draft copy dated Aug. 13, obtained from the Union of Concerned Scientists, was clearly unfinished.

The newspaper said the scientist's concerns were echoed by several scientific groups that say the Agriculture Department pressured scientists to protect industries or countries favoured by the administration of President George W. Bush.

What? We are favoured? Well, that's news to me!

[kato]

From today's CCA update

The American Meat Institute, representing U.S. meat processors, has sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture urging immediate restoration of trade in cattle, beef and beef products produced in minimal BSE risk countries such as Canada. The letter points out there have been substantial equity and job reductions in the U.S. cattle industry and beef-packing sectors due to loss of U.S. export markets. The letter states “there is a terrible irony in the fact that the U.S. requirements imposed on Canada in 2003 are the very precedents preventing U.S. beef exports to Mexico today.” It also states that until the U.S. exhibits leadership by reopening the Canadian border to cattle and beef and beef products in a manner that conforms with OIE standards, it is unrealistic to expect that other countries will afford any similar access opportunities for American ranchers and processors

[rsomer]

kato: It is good to hear this coming from the American Meat Institute. The American Meat Institute (AMI) is the
United States’ oldest and largest meat and poultry trade association. The AMI has consistently been Canada friend throughout the BSE issue as well as Country of Origin Labeling.

Regarding cowman’s comment "I can only assume that the Canadian border will open to American cattle and all beef products from this report." My understanding is that our border never closed to American live cattle under 30 months of age which were destined for a Canadian packing plant. It is my expectation that the Americans will in turn allow our live cattle under 30 months of age into their country before May 20, 2004. I would not expect to see the border open to all live cattle under 30 months, just those destined for a U.S. packing plant.

[magpie]

Rsomer are you assuming that feeder cattle under 30 months will go to a feedlot and then to a packing plant or just fat cattle shipped directly to packing plant from here?

[rsomer]

I see the first live cattle to enter the U.S. will be finished fat cattle destined directly to a U.S. packing plant. The border will not be open to all live cattle under 30 months such as feeders until later. Just my opinion.
Otherwise the Canadian feedlots would be forced to compete with U.S. feeders to buy our calves and I don't see that happening.
The movement of finished cattle will add an element of competition in the fat cattle market but prices will only improve moderately for feeder calves as competition amongst the 33 large feedlots in Alberta that control 58% of the feeder market will still be somewhat limited until the U.S. has access to our feeders too. I may be wrong but I don't see that happening until the U.S. has a working ID system in place or until the U.S. has established a number of terminal lots such as Alberta has for imported U.S. feeders.

[kato]

Our cattle are already registered in an ID system though. I would think that as long as no one takes off their tags, the "American" lack of ID wouldn't be an issue.

Actually, if you think about it, our ID'd calves should bring a premium, so why would anyone remove their tags? We can only hope that someone down there has thought of that. They would have a jumpstart on the process.

MMM.....

[Incognito]

I can only imagine the Dakotan politician was Bryon Dorgan. Funny, when the border was going to be opened for barley, the left leaning farm groups and supply managed sectors were quoting this guy like he was a god.

He is as whacko as they come.