NMA up to bat for Canadian Beef

[CattleAnnie]

Beef News
NMA seeks status in Canadian beef import case

by Pete Hisey on 9/17/04 for Meatingplace.com



The National Meat Association has asked the United States District Court in Billings, Mont., to grant it intervenor status in a lawsuit filed by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) against the USDA. R-CALF is attempting to keep the border closed to imported cattle and beef products in the wake of Canada's bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak.

Rosemary Mucklow, NMA executive director, tells Meatingplace.com, "We can reasonably anticipate that (the USDA) will reopen the border," and the NMA wants to be present in court to argue on behalf of beef processors, who have lost business and a source of inexpensive cattle since the import ban went into effect last year.

As the plaintiff in the case, R-CALF will get five days notice of the publication of a final rule as well as regular updates. NMA wants the same rights so that it can present the free-trade argument opposing R-CALF's protectionist position.

Mucklow said that many slaughterhouses and processors have had to lay off workers, and at least one shut down altogether, due to lower volume of live cattle.

"NMA advocates the earliest possible reopening of the U.S./Canada border to imports of healthy slaughter cattle, believing that this is beneficial both to consumers and the firms that slaughter and process cattle," the association said in a statement. "Intervenor status will provide NMA the opportunity to participate if R-CALF uses the current litigation to unduly delay resumption of trade."

It's snowing again up here in northeastern BC, so heads up to you folks east and south of us. Take care.

[farmers_son]

Thanks for the information. The NMA has always been onside with Canada on this issue. I think we will need to see the U.S. and Japan work out their differences before we see the USDA final rule announced. I do not foresee R-Calf fighting the final rule. R-Calf has really been a pawn of the U.S. administration who have used them to take the blame for U.S. delaying tactics. Once the USDA and the U.S. administration decide to open the border to our live cattle, it will happen and happen quickly.

[wd40]

We don't need the border open. We need
1. Canadian owned packer capaccity. (Cargill is currently making around $1.5 M per day.
2. We need our Govt. to help make that happen, (they are about to do that).
3. We need to never export another live animal but ship them in a box first.

[pandiana]

Right on! WD40 We need to stay focused on measures that will open more doors and lessen our dependence on a market whose doors open or close willy nilly at any opportunity to provide an advantage for their interests.

[frustrated1]

Now we're on the right track! In a box from a canadian plant. Let's ship it straight to whatever places it's going to end up at when it goes through the neighbours plants anyhow. Let that l.5 million stay in canadian hands.

Seems there's more of us thinking this way all the time. Let's keep it up. And let's keep the border closed a while longer to make sure it gets in motion.

[farmers_son]

Now hold on people. I would love to see all our beef leave this country in a box too but how far away is that? 2006 at the earliest. There is at least two fall runs of calves before then. And does anyone doubt that the border will be open before 2006, I don’t doubt it. Given that the border will open, sooner is better than later. We don’t need to see the border closed for any longer, we have learned the lessons. I think the delay in announcing the USDA final rule is delaying the start of construction of our much needed packing plant capacity because it doesn’t make sense to invest that money until you know the rules of the game. The present uncertainty is hurting our industry as much as anything. Time to get it settled and get on with it.

[cakadu]

I think there is much more to the delayed start-up of Canadian packing plants than just waiting for the USDA to open the border.

Some people are just waiting for the border to open, others have no money to put into packing plants, opposition to packing plants going into various areas, competing for dollars for packing plants, no success story to have a look at etc. I don't believe it's not as simple as just holding our collective breaths waiting for the border to open. It might be that our leadership is doing that, but many producers certainly aren't.

I'm curious to know from you as to how long you think it would take for things to go back to the status quo, if the only thing we do right now is wait for the border to open?

[grassfarmer]

Hmmm... I've just noticed that "farmers_son" contains the letters to make "rsomer" .... coincidence?

[jensend]

grassfarmer - i don't think so; same arguments, same logic - you can't get there from here.

[jensend]

The goals that WD40 pointed out are goals for our industry whether the border opens or not.

It could be agrued that mulinational companies are in every sector of our economy, and they work well.

However we have just lived through a year of Multinational profit taking on the backs of those who supply them with product. If this kind of immoral activity were to occur in any other industry, would that industry not look at change.

I was as accepting as most of the system we had prior to May 20, 2003, and I have always said to my marketer, I don't really care what you make, as long as you treat me fair.

We have not been treated fair, even though it was legal, and acceptable to the business world.

It was/is not civil or ethical, and I do not think that Canadian producers can ever forget that.

Our arguement against treatment from the packers is nothing like the argument from producer groups in the USA. This is one very special case. This is a case of disrespect, and arguments to curb mutinational packer domination in Canada will forever have this period of time for reference.

I believe the proactive approach is to take our industry back rather than challenge them or blame them. They have shown their colors, now lets show ours.