Expanded Access for U.S. Cattle and Beef Products

[farmers_son]

Pandiana: The biting midge responsible for spreading Bluetongue, CULICOIDES SONORENSIS, is present in Alberta, most prevalent in the southern half of the province. What is not known is if the midge is a competent vector. The study being conducted will conclude September 2005. Until that study is done there is no science to determine the risk of spread of bluetongue.


The ability of the CULICOIDES SONORENSIS to be a competent vector depends upon environmental conditions. It is known that where the right combination of temperature and humidity are present that CULICOIDES SONORENSIS is a competent vector for bluetongue.

See: http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?ACCN_NO=406582

I agree that anaplasmosis is the more serious disease that will cost Alberta cow calf producers millions of dollars. Both Anaplas and BT cause abortions in pregnant cows which is a major concern. Most of the death loss will be from Anaplasmosis, in the range of 20% in infected herds. The symptoms of BT mimic those of hoof and mouth and infected animals can become deathly ill, especially if there is a trigger such as a previous infection with BVD.

[farmers_son]

There is a news item in the Agri-ville News corner on contagious Foreign Animal Diseases at:

https://www.agriville.com/cgi-bin/newsroom/view.cgi?articleID=3006

I happen to know Clare Schlegel, and he speaks the truth. BSE is relatively easy to contain and stop spreading. We may not be so lucky next time. All our livelihoods depend on keeping our livestock disease free.

"Clare Schlegel, an Ontario pork producer, doesn't want to be a scaremonger, but says estimates show that even an isolated, short-lived outbreak could cost producers as much as $13 billion. Not a scenario to play around with, he adds. The worst-case estimates for a major outbreak pegs the hit to the Canadian economy at $45 billion..."

[cakadu]

What I don't get is why even set up the potential for these diseases to manifest themselves. Wasn't our disease free status worth something? At least pre-BSE, it was something that we had that other countries didn't.

I should also think that at this stage of the game we shouldn't think it won't happen to us or happen here.

I take it that Canadian feedlots want access to American feeders so that they can custom feed. Is custom feeding lucrative enough to warrant all the cross-border movement? I'm just trying to get a handle on how all of this works.

[WoolyBear]

I personally don't think that we should open the border to cattle from regions where there is anaplasmosis and or blue tongue. BSE is not a disease that could cause long term economical health problems in our sheep and cattle (and other ruminants). The costs of control and eradication of these disease from our otherwise healthy herds would make the cost to date of BSE look like chump change.

This isn't a wise concession to open the borders............ I say keep it close,and keep it out.

[cowman]

Well I don't think they ever said they were going to throw it wide open? I believe it is just from states they thought were basically pretty safe?
They had this restricted access thing in place already anyway and although it was supposed to be real tight, it actually wasn't once they got up here? I saw a pen of heifers sell at Innisfail that came in under the restricted program...bred angus heifers! Now I don't know if they were tested up here but they definitely still had the special eartags in! That would have been about three years ago.