USDA to decrease BSE testing

[SASH]

Corralling Cow Costs

The Department of Agriculture's budget proposes testing far fewer animals for mad-cow disease next year.

The president's budget would fund testing of 40,000 animals, a sharp drop from the 210,000 animals tested so far under the department's current surveillance program, which began June 1.

USDA spokesman Ed Loyd said this year's testing is part of a one-time, widespread-surveillance program to identify the prevalence of mad-cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, following the discovery of a BSE-infected cow in December 2003. One of the program's goals was to determine the optimal number of animals to test in subsequent years, Mr.
Loyd said. The answer, he said, was 40,000 a year.

Overall, the Bush budget would spend $66 million to keep BSE out of the nation's food supply. The money would go toward animal testing and developing a national animal-identification program. The figure also includes $7.5 million for mad-cow research, to fund a team of 15 scientists to develop improved diagnostic tests, to improve the department's understanding of how the disease is transmitted, and examining different strains of the disease.

The USDA will continue to test animals considered high risk, including those older than 30 months and showing signs of neurological illness. So far, none has tested positive for mad-cow disease.

--Sara Schaefer Muñoz

[wd40]

GOOD - We're finally relegating BSE to it's rightfull place. Inconspiciousness.

[kpb]

good but only if we also decrease, by the same percentage, the number we are testing. Otherwise we'll be like we usually are when we deal with the Americans--suckers.

[jensend]

if we decrease testing now we would lose the credibility we have offshore. we have bse and oie guidelines set our testing quota and we had better meet it or we can kiss goodbye the hope of ever getting back into the lucrative markets we're still locked out of. i hope the americans do cut back; it can only help us look relatively better. we have bse here and we had better not try to hide from it.

[intr3est]

I agree Jensend, the only countries in the world that have lost consumer confidence after cases of BSE were those that tried to hide it. (Japan for eg.)

[kpb]

jensend, that's fine if we keep our high level of testing but don't find another BSE animal. But if we do find one, and then another, and then another, then it won't matter how high our credibility is or how noble we look because we tested more than the U.S. (on a percentage basis). The border will slam shut again. If we look hard enough we'll find another. And if we bring our testing in line with the U.S., then maybe we won't find another. I'd rather be in business than be liked everywhere.

[kpb]

I can think of at least one other country that has not lost consumer confidence even though it is quite apparent that they've hidden BSE--the U.S. And now they're going to test even less, how many more BSE cases do you think they'll find? The answer is none. So we're going to play the fool again by testing 10 times as many animals, on a percentage basis, as our biggest customer and then we'll just stand there like morons when we find another case and the border shuts again.

[intr3est]

Biggest customer at present, but it doesn't have to be this way, if we market ourselves right. The 6-10% we were shipping there can be shipped somewhere else. Stay on the straight and narrow, it never fails, some hiccups, but prevails in the end. Others will see what the US is doing! With everything that's going on, kinda makes you wonder if it's the USDA that's not hiding a case or two and not the ranchers! Gets back to my point about an independant org. confirming all tests. Canada should puch for it. Let's be transparent!

[jensend]

if we back away from oie guidelines we'll never be able to open another border to our beef. by testing and following risk mitigation guidelines (srm's, keeping high risk and positive animals out of the food supply, feed rules) we at least have a chance of the industry surviving. to cut back testing would kill the cattle industry. we would lose our domestic customers as well. when the americans cut back testing an awful lot of countries will regard it as a strategy to hide bse, their system is already suspect and deficient (no traceback). if we could cut ourselves loose from the americans we might find it is a positive step.

[intr3est]

I'll copy something I posted at Ranchers.

Every country in the world has a problem trusting the Americans, do you think this only comes down to food safety, remember weapons of mass destruction. We are judged on all our dealings with the outside world, not just our beef. Remember Canada's stance, "we don't think there are WMD" who was right? Wear your Canadian flag when you're in Europe Oldtimer, I worry about your safety! We'd hate to lose someone who posts such insightful copies of part articles

[rkaiser]

We still have the option of being fully transparent and testing all beef for markets that demand it. We might even gain a few American customers if we say we will offer 100% BSE tested beef. I am talking about OTM cattle, but if the Japanese drop down to 14 months for untested U14M cattte, maybe we could test some 20 monthers, once again, if the customer asks.

No science behind any of this garbage anyway, why can't Canadian producers use the BS in our favor for once.

[wd40]

No country has stepped up to the plate with a PO in hand if the meat is tested. Until they do it is just posturing.

[rkaiser]

What has not been posturing in this whole debacle wd?

[greybeard]

We have convinced ourselves that our southern neighbors are hiding positives, but why are we so happy to only look south? Quebec has a large part of the Canadian dairy quota. I’m sure we shipped some heifers down there too. The source seems to be a relatively small area within 2 hrs drive of Edmonton.
Finger pointing is just too easy, and really does no good for any of us as producers.

[kato]

I think there is a lot of denial going on down south, and that no matter how much they wish it so, some day they will find one of their own despite their best efforts not to. After all, this disease can occur spontaneously, so to say it can never happen is pretty cheeky in anyone's books. Saying BSE is not in the States is not enough to prevent it from happening.

It would make a big p.r. flap if one of the anti-meat lobby groups in the States started making the handling of the situation in their country into a subject of public debate.

I would think the USDA is offering them up a reason to call the safety of American beef into question on a silver platter. Between this and the rhetoric from R-Calf about how one animal in a million is enough reason to call all Canadian beef tainted and unsafe, I would be worried if I was an American cattle producer.

All the ingredients are there for a major loss of consumer confidence regarding American beef, and no one in the industry seems to be willing to do anything about it. They're all busy watching us, and meanwhile they are ignoring the real troubles that are in the process of developing.

They can deny it all they like, but the fact is that they imported British cattle, just like we did. They slaughtered and rendered them, just like we did. They fed the same feed as we did (and chicken litter to boot). They have millions of Canadian cattle in their herd.

Never say never.