Possible Case BSE - Canada

[DieselRam]

To answer the question before on how a cow born in 2000 could be infected:
It only takes 1/1000th of a gram of the infected feed to infect an animal. This small of an amount is indetectible to the human eye. It could have been lingering in some storage containers or bins and infected the cow. This could happen even if the farmer cleaned all the old feed out. To properly disinfect you would have to take apart and sanitize every part,building,and equipment that would have come into contact with the infected substance.

[cowman]

Well the science always said we'd find some more? And its not like the vets aren't out there looking! My local vet says it has become the meat and potatoes of his practice!
Now I wonder though? If we have only found one animal in all the thousands we test, how prevalent was this disease? Just about every farmer knows if he has some old crock or some cow dies, he can get $225 from the local vet?
The other question I wonder about is this? If we find one or two, how come the USA isn't finding anymore? The science say they should...but it isn't happening! Now why is that?

[cowman]

I agree the 4D cow payment has been a cash cow ( pardon the pun) for vets. They get paid to scoop the brain sample plus a good fee for mileage. I wonder how closely some of them stick to the criteria !!
I have an old gal here that weighs around 1800 pounds, she is in excellent shape and in calf, so I am going to 'run her one more year'. The neighbour was over the other day and suggested I have her VET drop by and euthanize the cow so I could collect the $225. Now this cow wouldn't qualifiy on any of the criteria, but the same vet has put quite a few cows down at the neighbours so it makes me wonder!!

[dfarms11]

Just a note on the comment that it is easy money for the vets. Actually it is more of a waste of their time. To our standards as a farmer, yes it is good money, but as a vet charges it is not near enough. Think about it how much they would charge to make a simple farm call to pull a calf or push in a prolapse. $200 . They don't get that from the govt.

[grassfarmer]

Don't they? I'd heard they got more than the $225 after counting time and mileage?

[kato]

Is the Alberta government topping you guys up? In Manitoba the vet gets $100, flat rate, no matter what the mileage is, and the producer gets $75 for the cow.

[silverback]

Here's a question for you cowguys and girls.

How many cows on your farms, per year, do you think need to be put down and checked for BSE by a vet? On a percentage of the herd? One or two a year?? 10? 20?

Whatever the number is, I have to ask the obvious question: Is it really that urgent that you get the $250 to keep the farm going? For the good of the entire industry, is it not better to euthanize her and put her in a hole in the back 40?

I know that is not a pc thing to say, but if all she is worth is a few cases of beer, why risk the potential problems it could cause the whole country?

I won't guess as to why the U.S. hasn't seen anymore lately, but I would almost guess that someone down there is strongly suggesting they make sure those old crocks disappear into the ground.

Just a guess.

[blackjack]

...silverback... the govt came up with the fee cause us ranchers were not having any tested...if the american rancher was given a fee i'm thinkin those old crocks would be tested ...not that i am putting down my fellow farmers but we might have been suckered in by our govt...only time will tell i guess...

[cowman]

silverback: We might be better off doing the old shoot, shovel and shutup, financially, but that doesn't solve the real problem of food safety, herd health, and consumer confidence?
It appears the USA has decided the 3S approach is best but usually deception and lies come back to bite you in the butt somewhere down the road? I would think the world views Canada as an honest system? And probably the consumer? How do they view the USA?
The other thing that was good about the Alberta government system of paying $225/animal was it stopped all the scoundrels from paying 10 cents a pound for cows? Now they either pay a floor price or old bossy goes into the program and the coyotes get a free meal!
And yes Kato, we do get $225 for a dead cow or an old cow that the vet puts down...and I think they get about the same amount of money! Apparently you don't get that kind of money? Maybe you should consider that the next time you have a provincial election?

[kato]

We'll be thinking a lot of things when there is another provincial election! There is a long list of broken promises on the NDP's records that need to be addressed.

[silverback]

Ok, but are they not doing more testing of old cows at the slaughter plant? What is our testing requirement right now? If I remember, we are WAY over the target set a couple of years ago?

If we are meeting our targets, why chance everything for 225 bucks?

I am only thinking of the old, nasty beasts out there right now that are worth nothing more than the gov't money.

I am still wondering what kind of cow this latest one was.

Is it negative?

[blackjack]

...as far as i know silverback... cattle have never been tested at a packing plant...the packers and cattle associations did not want to take the chance of a positive sample showing up at the plant cause of the lack of slaughtering capacity...hence the on farm testing...

...this last case of bse according to a report in the western producer came from a 400 head dairy farm...