Canadian Cattlemen Organization Says To Sue US Cattle Group
4/12/2005 8:10:00 AM
KANSAS CITY (Dow Jones)--A group of Canadian cattle producers is planning to sue the U.S. producer group R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, alleging damages caused by its efforts to keep the U.S. border closed to all Canadian cattle.
A spokesman for R-CALF USA dismissed the threatened suit, calling it a low priority for his group.
John Morrison, spokesman for the as-yet loosely organized group called Fair Market Beef, spoke from his Manitoba home office and said he wished the U.S. and Canadian cattle industries could tackle the problem of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, together rather than fighting over the nuances of whether the border should remain closed. So many cattle have crossed the border over the years that they are essentially the same market, Morrison says.
The U.S. closed the border on May 20, 2003, when Canada announced its first case of BSE. Since then, the U.S. has reopened the border to certain cuts of boneless beef and tried to open it to Canadian cattle under 30 months of age.
However, that last attempt to open the border was thwarted on March 2 when Federal District Court Judge Richard Cebull granted R-CALF USA's request for a preliminary injunction baring the reopening until a full hearing could hear all the evidence for granting a permanent injunction.
Morrison maintains that Canadian cattle producers are very upset with R-CALF USA, the border closing and the lack of accuracy in some of the statements made by the producers' group. They are particularly incensed with the whole premise that Canadian cattle aren't safe, according to Morrison.
Morrison said it could be argued that Canadian cattle and beef are safer than those in the U.S. because his country has a mandatory identification and tagging system already in place while the U.S. is still formulating its plan.
In order to put together its class-action suit against R-CALF USA, Morrison said Fair Market Beef wanted to sign up 1,000 cattle producers who had lost money since March 7. This date was chosen because this was when the USDA would have opened the border if it hadn't been for the injunction from Judge Cebull, he said.
Those who sign up must write out a check for C$20 and be able to prove a loss, Morrison said, adding that almost 35,000 cattlemen have signed up so far. Writing a check prevents accidental double signups. Each person will be sent a receipt with a form to verify their loss, he said.
Within the next week or two, Fair Market Beef will be filing its suit against R-CALF USA in Federal District Court in Billings, Mont., the same court that handed down the preliminary injunction that kept Canadian cattle out of the U.S., Morrison said. Should R-CALF USA cause any delays in the impending July 27 hearing date for a permanent injunction, Fair Market Beef will press for a surety of $7 million a day from R-CALF USA to cover losses.
An R-CALF USA communications coordinator said the only contact they have had with Morrison or his group is a "poorly written" letter threatening to sue. As a result, it's low on the list of priorities the organization is dealing with currently, he said.
Morrison said his group chose the federal court in Billings for the convenience of having the suits in the same court and because the court has a history of imposing sureties in other cases.
If Fair Market Beef can prove in court that Canadian cattle are as safe or safer than U.S. cattle, not only will the border be reopened but it is possible that Canadian beef will have a marketing edge over U.S. beef, Morrison said. Already, there is a packing plant or two that have expressed interest in killing only Canadian cattle so the product can be isolated, labeled and sold to U.S. consumers for what they hope will be a premium, he said.
4/12/2005 8:10:00 AM
KANSAS CITY (Dow Jones)--A group of Canadian cattle producers is planning to sue the U.S. producer group R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, alleging damages caused by its efforts to keep the U.S. border closed to all Canadian cattle.
A spokesman for R-CALF USA dismissed the threatened suit, calling it a low priority for his group.
John Morrison, spokesman for the as-yet loosely organized group called Fair Market Beef, spoke from his Manitoba home office and said he wished the U.S. and Canadian cattle industries could tackle the problem of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, together rather than fighting over the nuances of whether the border should remain closed. So many cattle have crossed the border over the years that they are essentially the same market, Morrison says.
The U.S. closed the border on May 20, 2003, when Canada announced its first case of BSE. Since then, the U.S. has reopened the border to certain cuts of boneless beef and tried to open it to Canadian cattle under 30 months of age.
However, that last attempt to open the border was thwarted on March 2 when Federal District Court Judge Richard Cebull granted R-CALF USA's request for a preliminary injunction baring the reopening until a full hearing could hear all the evidence for granting a permanent injunction.
Morrison maintains that Canadian cattle producers are very upset with R-CALF USA, the border closing and the lack of accuracy in some of the statements made by the producers' group. They are particularly incensed with the whole premise that Canadian cattle aren't safe, according to Morrison.
Morrison said it could be argued that Canadian cattle and beef are safer than those in the U.S. because his country has a mandatory identification and tagging system already in place while the U.S. is still formulating its plan.
In order to put together its class-action suit against R-CALF USA, Morrison said Fair Market Beef wanted to sign up 1,000 cattle producers who had lost money since March 7. This date was chosen because this was when the USDA would have opened the border if it hadn't been for the injunction from Judge Cebull, he said.
Those who sign up must write out a check for C$20 and be able to prove a loss, Morrison said, adding that almost 35,000 cattlemen have signed up so far. Writing a check prevents accidental double signups. Each person will be sent a receipt with a form to verify their loss, he said.
Within the next week or two, Fair Market Beef will be filing its suit against R-CALF USA in Federal District Court in Billings, Mont., the same court that handed down the preliminary injunction that kept Canadian cattle out of the U.S., Morrison said. Should R-CALF USA cause any delays in the impending July 27 hearing date for a permanent injunction, Fair Market Beef will press for a surety of $7 million a day from R-CALF USA to cover losses.
An R-CALF USA communications coordinator said the only contact they have had with Morrison or his group is a "poorly written" letter threatening to sue. As a result, it's low on the list of priorities the organization is dealing with currently, he said.
Morrison said his group chose the federal court in Billings for the convenience of having the suits in the same court and because the court has a history of imposing sureties in other cases.
If Fair Market Beef can prove in court that Canadian cattle are as safe or safer than U.S. cattle, not only will the border be reopened but it is possible that Canadian beef will have a marketing edge over U.S. beef, Morrison said. Already, there is a packing plant or two that have expressed interest in killing only Canadian cattle so the product can be isolated, labeled and sold to U.S. consumers for what they hope will be a premium, he said.
Comment