USDA says No to OTM beef and cattle

[farmers_son]

I was just wondering what we are doing. I checked the CFIA website and found a news release dated January 31, 2005 stating that Canada is allowing in all U.S. live cattle born after 1998 (don't know how that would be verified) and all beef from animals of any age that have had the SRMs removed. Excuse me for being a little sarcastic but there was no mention of the imported U.S. live cattle having to be branded USA.

I think the key word in Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns' statement is the opening of the border to cow beef has been delayed, and that we should take this to mean that we will see cow beef going south sooner rather than later. Although not mentioned in this latest news release I believe that Canadian packers will be able to kill UTM and OTM beef in the same plant which will help.

Still I think we are being punished for finding those last two BSE positives and it is disappointing that any international trading partner chooses to block trade because we were doing honest tests. Perhaps our industry's honesty will gain all Canadian cattle producers markets in the long term but short term the cow calf operator is going to continue to bear the financial burden of BSE.

[JD4ME]

Back in the fall what seems now a thousand years ago at the APB meeting in our area I made the comment to a couple of the reps there that wouldn't it be an interesting resolution for the annual meeting that stated that ABP is asking that Canada not export any beef in any form to the U.S unless full and unobstructed trade is allowed to resume.
I know it was unworkable and it's been the boxed beef sales that have allowed us to have the poor prices we've at least had on fats but I sure wish we we're in the position to say thanks but no thanks.
Theres a lesson in this but I don't think it's a good one.

[cowman]

I suspect Johannes played this pretty smart? Took the wind out of R-CALFs sails by doing this in stages? How much money did R-CALF waste on this last little adventure? How many more bake sales will they have to hold to pay off their lawyers?
My guess is we'll see cows moving across the border before fall! I wonder if this will put an end to all the proposed cow plants up here? I would be very sceptical of investing any money in a cow plant right now?

[farmers_son]

Re: the timing of when we see cows moving across the border. Won’t it depend upon whether we find more BSE positives offset by if the USA has a BSE positive? Given that testing is to increase in 2005 and that there are still cows around that were born before the feed ban it would seem reasonable that more needles in the haystack will be found. Science is one thing but these positives do give those protectionist forces in the U.S. excuses to keep our competing beef and cattle out of their country, as we have just witnessed.

Any packing plant venture should have been considered with an open border in mind. Surely the hard lessons learned since May 20 will not be forgotten as soon as the border opens. The need for increased packing plant capacity is just as real after March 7 (and if Cowman’s forecasts are accurate, this fall) as it is today. Granted the unfair profits the packing plants were making will be gone or at least reduced but there is no reason I am aware of that Canada cannot be just as competitive in the packing plant industry as the U.S.

And it is just as unfair tomorrow as it is today that producers do not have the opportunity to market their own live cattle in the form of beef across provincial and international borders if they so choose. Presently that is denied them as they are forced to sell their live cattle to this country’s 13 federally inspected packing plants.