Comments again

[kato]

Please go to https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/BSEcom.nsf/BSEFrameset?OpenFrameSet

Read the comments from some of the American producers.

Please respond to them. This is so important.

[grassfarmer]

Apparently it's not that important going by the response you are getting on this site. All this talk of grouping together and deciding which organisation to join seems to have paralysed peoples ability to act as individuals.
Whether we do it alone or united we need to get off our collective butts and contribute or we can't complain about the consequences down the line. Since last summer we have all been frustrated by our inablity to influence the course of events - here we have a direct line to USDA and no-one seems interested. Why not?

[CattleAnnie]

Hi there,
Tried to access the site as per the web address given, but keep coming up with a page saying that it is an incorrect command. Would like to see what's happening there, but can't find the site.
Thanks.

[CattleAnnie]

Me too.
Decided to go ahead and submit a comment without reading any, but hit an "error message" when I got to the "submit point". Won't be giving up that easy. Actually found satisfaction knowing that I could actually send something off this easy.

[CattleAnnie]

Hi again,
Found it. Sounds like our beef is about as popular as the bubonic plague.
Great...

[blackjack]

thanks,kato; I will reply.

[blackjack]

thanks,kato; I will reply.

[countryguy]

How is everyone getting in there?I can't get in,keeps saying site unavailable or something like that.Help.

[grassfarmer]

rpkaiser, the submit form didn't work for me either - I finally sent an email to the email address it gives you.

[grassfarmer]

countryguy, I just cut'n'pasted Kato's link at the top of the page here and it went through straight away - keep trying, I think it's a dasterdly plot by the Americans to limit Canadian replies.

[boone]

Post: I had a chance to read some of the comments, unbelievable, and a couple were Doctors of Veterinary Medicine, that kept cattle. One was a bank manager from Sturgis South Dakota, she suggested they shouldn't open border and do any favours for Canadians. Cattle farmers there were doing very well because of it thankyou. I wonder if we can get all the Harley Davidson dealerships in Canada to start a boycott of the big biker run to Sturgis SD this year. Maybe when the hotels are half empty they can check their cornflakes to see what is in it. These remarks were in light of COOL laws as I understand it, so ignorance is bliss.

[almoy]

If the US listens to the comments they are getting I don't see a hope in Hell that the border will open in my lifetime !!

[magpie]

Tried what you said grassfarmer,can't get in either.

[CattleAnnie]

To view the website, go to Kato's earlier post on this board ( Have you made your comment yet? Mar.10/04 ).

He's got the address there.

Best wishes.

[rsomer]

I have read many of the comments posted on the APHIS site. I recall the recent comment period on Canada’s proposal to change the rules on Bluetongue and Analplasmosis and the similar opportunity for the public to offer input during the comment period. There was a point of view expressed in these threads that the "fix was in" on BT and Anaplas and in hindsight it probably was. I doubt if any of the comments put forward to CFIA on the BT and Anaplas issue changed anything.

I am curious why the public comment period offered by the USDA would be viewed as being any different. Wouldn’t it be fair to say the "fix is in" on this issue as well. I would not be surprised, I would even expect, that the decision on when and how to open the border has already been determined. Offering the public an opportunity to comment is more of a public relations exercise than a genuine expression of a desire to gather public opinion which is a valued part of the decision making process.

I think the bottom line issue for Canadians here is does the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Canadian Meat Council (the packers) who jointly put forward a comment on January 6, 2004 on behalf of the Canadian beef industry speak for the Canadian industry. If so then there is no need for Canadians to reply. If you do not believe the CCA speaks for the industry then by all means put forward your comments.

There seems to be little to be gained. either collectively or individually, by further reminding the Americans of the science revolving around the BSE issue. If science was driving this issue the border would have been open in June of 2003. Since May 20, 2003 Canadian producers have had an opportunity to see first hand how trade politics work and international policy is made. Realistically, the politicians already have decided when the border will open. As the saying goes, "the fix is in".