Paraguayan Beef - Traceability

[farmers_son]

Got this from Meat and Livestock Australia's Market News...

http://www.mla.com.au/TopicHierarchy/News/MarketNews/2009/Paraguayan%20beef%20focused%20on%20the%20EU.htm

3/02/2009

Since August last year, Paraguay has rapidly increased the number of traced cattle in the Paraguayan Traceability System (SITRAP). The jump in the number of traced cattle comes after the EU formally lifted the foot and mouth disease related ban on Paraguayan beef as a result of outbreaks in 2003 (Agromeat).

In December 2008, 600,000 head of cattle were recorded in the traceability system - up 100% since August. The increase was primarily the result of the US¢29/kg cwt price premium paid by Paraguayan meatpackers to producers for traced cattle - with beef then shipped to the EU market at premiums of between US$2,000-3,000/tonne swt.

Paraguay has a potential to include around 3.5 million cattle in SITRAP over the short term.

Also see:
http://www.ipfsaph.org/cds_upload/kopool_data/WTOSPSDOC_0/en_gen689.doc

[smcgrath76]

Market driven traceability. What a concept!!!

[grassfarmer]

Yep, we can laugh at the "market driven traceability" issue - but the bigger thing to note here is the scale of what Paraguay is sending to the EU. Yet in Canada all the "conventional wisdom" (ABP,CCA,CBEF etc) say we can't export to the EU, only to the US because they are our biggest and best customer.
Another market we are losing out on which plays directly into the hands of the packers who want to keep our beef captive on this continent and producers penniless.

[smcgrath76]

GF - I don't disagree with you on the hormone thing. Quite frankly I think the reason so many people get by with crappy genetics is the application of hormones after birth. We always defend the "sound science" of hormones and they are probably safe, but we never look at the market economics of not using hormones. Currently we can export to the EU (I can email you a protocol if you wish), but because of the prevalence of hormones in the general system, the hoops of proving you are outside the system become cost prohibitive.

[kato]

I wonder exactly how prevalent they actually are. I know we've quit using them, as have most of the people we speak to. Perhaps there are not as many implanted calves around as many would think, at least before they hit the big feedlots anyway.

Would the Verified Beef quality assurance program be a way to certify implant free cattle? Just a thought.

[smcgrath76]

we and a couple of others I know on this site are on VBP. The program audits your records, but you keep the records yourself. The protocol I have calls for a lot more supervision, onsite veterinary visits and the like. Not to say that an exporter couldn't use the VBP program as a framework for storing the data and getting affadavits and audits. The VBP program is more about proper administration and tracking of withdrawal times, and also what to do with med errors and off label uses.
I think a proper system could be set up using VBP as the inital point of entry into certified hormone free.

[grassfarmer]

I didn't specifically mention the hormone issue - just that we are not even looking at export opportunities in the EU seriously. I know technically that we can export there but with the multi-million dollar budgets of CBEF and CFIA seemingly aimed at preventing exports off this continent by anyone other than the big 3 packers hormones really are a small issue in comparison.