this is progress?

[jensend]

so after twenty two months of waiting Laycraft says now we have to fight to hold on to the boxed beef exports we now have?? somebody give him a globe and show him there are other places in the world than the united states. cca is looking more inept as the weeks go by. pretty soon they can spin maintenance of what we have now as a huge positive step. the quote is from ctv.ca


Beef producers believe R-CALF, an American lobby group, wants a more sweeping ban that would halt shipments of boneless beef from entering the United States.

"We're not expecting there's any imminent risks, but we have to be prepared if it's down the road," Dennis Laycraft of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and chair of the beef round table which will meet Mitchell, told The Canadian Press.

"The best scenario for us, if this (border opening) is going to be delayed, is that we don't lose the under 30-month beef that's going in there currently," he said.

"Whatever plan we develop has to look at that risk."

[farmers_son]

I think Dennis Laycraft is just laying it out on the table and telling it like it is. In another thread I mentioned my concerns that we could loose the beef exports we have now. If Richard Cebull continues to be left in charge of U.S. international policy then we have to face the possibility that he will impose further restrictions on Canadian beef imports just like he did in April 2004.

As for other places in the world…the world is watching right now. Countries like Japan, Korea, and others are watching to see trade resume between Canada and the U.S. before making any moves themselves. If trade cannot be reestablished between the worlds two closest trading partners then I would not expect the floodgates to open to beef trade with minimal risk countries any time soon.

“Beef producers believe R-CALF, an American lobby group, wants a more sweeping ban that would halt shipments of boneless beef from entering the United States” Well that is not news to me. R-Calf’s goal is a complete elimination of Canadian beef from the U.S. But where is the USDA in this? It is a week now and no mention of an appeal. Surely the USDA does not want this case to be heard before Richard Cebull so that R-Calf can have a public forum to drag the safety of North American beef through the mud.

[jensend]

i agree with what you say as far as cebull and r-calf are concerned and i have felt since cebull granted the injunction that r-calf would try to go all the way. i just think the ctv article points out that cca has take too much of a hope for the best attitude and not recognized that canada is in a position where we have to look for ways out of this rather than wait for somebody to lead us out. the only thing we have on our side if r-calf goes after the boxed beef is that we have been so willing to be ****d that tyson and cargill won't let that one go so easily.

[rkaiser]

You're right about the packers not lettin this go easily jensend.

In addition, the ABP lawyer informed a good friend of mine yesterday that Cebull had opportunity twice now to add boxed beef to the two Rcalf injunctions, and chose not to. Boxed beef has been on their plate on both occasions. Stopping trade on something new is easier than stopping a process already in motion... Hopeful, maybe, but we have to grasp every bit of hope we can,,,,,, not.

[rkaiser]

Oh yeah, if boxed beef is not stopped, Laycraft will declare his work victorious again.

I say CAN HIS BUTT. This man is nothing but an American Ass Kisser. We need someone with a new agenda other than an open border to the USA.

[Incognito]

You guys needed to follow grain politics...and learn that it is all politics...all the time.

Quote:
May 18, 2001

President Bush today also announced his formal nomination of two individuals to serve as Judges for the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.

The President has officially nominated Richard F. Cebull to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.

UNQUOTE

[farmers_son]

In April of 2004 the USDA and Canada both relaxed their respective BSE restrictions to allow an extended range of beef products into each others country. Richard Cebull granted R-Calf an injunction that saw the U.S. retract from that expanded list of products right back to the original list that were allowed in as of September 2003. That included products that were coming into the U.S. for many months due to an interpretation of the September 2003 product list. So it is possible to stop something that is already in motion, Cebull did it with a stroke of his pen.

The rumours I am hearing now suggest the USDA is not going to appeal the R-Calf injunction this time either. Richard Cebull has pretty well declared his position and views on this issue and the outcome of a trial he was presiding at would be pretty well certain. There is little that can be done from this side of the border but if the USDA sits back and lets Cebull decide this case then there is little doubt that they weren’t serious about ever allowing live Canadian cattle across the border. R-Calf, a small group of rich protectionist ranchers, will be in control of the U.S policy on food safety and that is a scary thing for producers on both sides of the border.

[Incognito]

you missed the point:

Who appointed Cebull?

[cowman]

America has this ugly attitude that they can have their cake and eat it too? Hey, you know something...that just really isn't cutting it?
Screw around with about the only country in the world that doesn't consider you complete a-holes!
Treat us like garbage! Shaft our hog farmers! Screw our beef farmers! Screw our wheat farmers! Does the USA ever wonder why they are practically universally hated?
I have always been a very vocal supporter of the USA? Frankly I admire a lot of the things they stand for? Free enterprize and the right for any person to get ahead if they make the effort. Unfortunately, I have been slightly discouraged by the attitude of a lot of American cattlemen! They will lie and cheat to achieve their dream. R-CALF is a lying and demeaning organization! Shame on all you American cattlemen for supporting these liars!

[kpb]

I know lots of you guys hate me saying this and disagree with me on this but as long as we are dependent on the U.S. for such a huge part of our market, we will be at their beck and call. Sure, cowman, the U.S. is disliked around the world, sure they look after their own interest at the expense of everyone else--Is that news to anyone?
I know lots of you don't want to hear this but if we had had a cull of our older cows at any point in the last two years, then gone to a supply management system to serve our domestic market and to hell with exports we would now have a secure industry with a bright future that we could make a decent living from. As long as we continue to seek the holy grail of export markets we will be at the whim of politics in those markets--politics that we have no control over. We need to grow up and look after our own interests as much as these other countries look after their interests.
Make no mistake about it, if the U.S. closes the border to boxed beef we will lose our Canadian cattle industry. I'm not talking about those of you who have 30 or 40 cows or who work off the farm to support your hobby. I'm addressing those of us who are trying to make a living from cattle, trying to raise a family and pay taxes. We are the ones who will disappear with a closed border because we are the only ones who actually care about making money in this industry. The hobby farmers don't actually care much about their expenses or returns--after all its not their main livlihood.
For those of us who are trying to keep this a viable industry and for the Canadian taxpayer, a mass cull and supply management is eventually going to have to be faced as the cheapest and brightest way to go.