MAD COW DISEASE FOUND IN THE UNITED STATES

[TOM4CWB]

Boone and Cowman;

I thought it would be good to repeat this AB Ag news release;

"August 25, 2003

Alberta invests $15 million in livestock disease and food safety surveillance, lab facilities

Edmonton...Albertans can be assured of having the best animal disease and food safety surveillance systems in the world, thanks to a new livestock testing facility, as well as enhanced surveillance programs and improvements to existing lab facilities.

These improvements were announced today by Shirley McClellan, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD) and are already in the process of being implemented. "We know that both Albertans and our international trading partners must be confident in our testing and surveillance systems," she said. "Let me be clear-these changes are about more than simply BSE-they're about ensuring that Alberta has cutting-edge expertise and facilities to deal with emerging animal disease and food safety challenges."

The enhancements to surveillance, which include cross-training staff to deal with surges, hiring two more veterinary pathologists and increased efficiencies in lab procedures, will provide AAFRD with the capacity to deal with surges in sample numbers for testing, ensuring appropriate turnaround time for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy tests. As well, improvements to the already existing lab facilities will make it easier for Alberta to support the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's enhanced surveillance initiatives.

The enhancements to already existing lab facilities will increase the capability of that lab to diagnose and test the presence of livestock diseases, while increasing worker safety. The new laboratory will be in a level III bio-security building, a significant improvement over AAFRD's existing facilities. It will enhance the ability for AAFRD staff to respond quickly when required to mitigate and control the damage caused by animal disease outbreaks.

The enhancements to the already existing facilities and the new lab will cost approximately $10 million. The enhancements to surveillance are expected to cost $5 million."

How much are other provinces and the feds doing to increase the reliability of our system?

[pandiana]

It is my understanding, from a variety of sources, that despite this proactive stance by the AB govt, the number of animals tested since May have not significantly increased. We can spend all the money but without a committment to carry through with the details this investment too will go the way of the DoDo!

[Incognito]

All the spin doctors; All the copyrighters; All the media CANNOT make this into a purely Canadian problem.

It is and always has been (starting on May 20th) a North American event.

60% of the US herd is within 600 miles of the US/Can border. Treat it as a N/A problem and do it quickly. The bad thing about holidays is the media had their way for three days.

Good luck everyone.

[TOM4CWB]

Incognito;

I see this on DTN today;

"Canada: Origin Inconclusive

12/30 09:40
TORONTO (AP) - Canadian officials downplayed the significance of the origins of a Holstein infected with mad cow disease, saying Monday other factors need examination before concluding a Canadian farm was the source.

Canada's minister of agriculture said finding the source of the animals feed was also important.

"Finding out where the cow came from is only one aspect. It's equally important to find out in fact where the feed came from that gave the cow BSE and also particularly where that cow contracted it," said Agriculture Minister Bob Speller at a press conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

He also said it was essential to ensure proper tagging and slaughterhouse procedures were followed, and that Canada and the United States have begun separate DNA tests, but did not know when results could be expected.

The remarks were his first since the U.S. Agriculture Department announced Saturday it believed the sick cow found in Washington came from a farm north of Edmonton, Alberta."

I am rather astounded that no beef animals have been slaughtered in the herds that were directly related to this cow... a week has gone by and no sign that the US is directly checking for BSE in these herds... WHAT is going on?

We need to test for BSE in related herds here in Alberta... if in fact this Wash. mad cow was imported from Alberta... strange how this is being handled... like no-one really wants to do more BSE testing!

[Incognito]

They are afraid of what they will find, Tom.

[cowman]

Or perhaps it is difficult to get 4000 head slaughtered at this time of year? We need to wait and keep our powder dry until we get the whole story? Does it really matter if we slaughter those cows right today...after all they are quarentined?
I suspect right now the Americans are in shock. Sort of like we were May 20th? If they need some time to do what they have to do is that a bad thing? We all need to chill on this thing and have some faith in our food safety officials.

[dmarti9]

Now I am just wondering after reading this article, what will happen to the US beef market and who will punish their industry by cutting their exports down as they did to our Canadian farmers and market?

Diana M.

[dmarti9]

I'd like to take the time to say that I obviously didn't read through all the comments as I didn't know there were some, and I was reacting to Cognito's opening Message. Cheers...Happy, New Years

[TOM4CWB]

Incognito;

I see the boundries are getting clearer...

THis was on DTN Agnews today:

"Japan requires all domestic cows to be tested for the disease before going to market and has urged Canada and the U.S. to tighten their test procedures.

The Asahi, a nationwide newspaper, reported Friday that the Japanese government would continue to press the U.S. to test every cow before sending it to market as a minimum condition for Japan to lift the U.S beef import ban."

[cowman]

And there it is! That is what is required. So what is the problem? Does it make more sense to do nothing and continue to lose billions? The governments of both the USA and Canada need to get with the program!
I mean how much can the cost be? Would it be more than the $85.4 million they lost this year on wheat?

[cropduster]

Commodity broker Larry Weber has been repeatedly saying this is a way to go and I agree,BUT,if the protocol for closing the borders aren`t changed to some form of graduated scale, based on numbers of animals discovered, we will DESTROY the industry as we know it.Why aren`t the cattle organizations working toward this end or am I uninformed???? Seems like all they`re doing is waiting for the American`s to allow them to start exporting again.

[cowman]

I think the cattle organizations are hoping that common sense will prevail in the US and the politicians will listen to their own USDA.
However this is an election year in the US and anything goes! Therefore you have guys like Tom Daeshele stirring the pot.
Yes testing will destroy the industry in the short term. It will also force America to get real on this disease in the long term. And not testing is going to destroy our industry anyway. When the Canadian consumer starts to back off beef we are in serious trouble! France tests. Japan tests. Their consumers are back and business is back to normal. We need to do something. We can't survive the way things are now?