BEEF producers say NO to Canadian Border

[frenchie]

ot and wOranch you Talk about Canadian feed compliannce

good luck



The entire post written by Mr. Hineman
"I was a member of the NCBA "trade team" that spent four days in Alberta last week examining the Canadian beef production system and gathering information. During our meeting with Dr. Brian Evans of CFIA we questioned him at length about the Vancouver Sun article. The data that was reported by the Sun was not from a verification audit. Rather, it was a training exercise conducted by CFIA to determine whether their personnel could accurately assess foreign material in feed samples by using direct microscopy. Of the 70 samples examined in the study 60% were of Canadian origin and 40% were imported (mostly from U.S., one sample from France). CFIA personnel were able to detect animal material in 41 of the 70 samples. Most of you folks have harvested crops some time in your life. You understand how insects and insect parts get harvested with grain. In many of the cases in the CFIA study this was the kind of thing they were finding. In others the animal material was small amounts of feather meal or feathers. In one case (the French sample) the "animal material" was a single strand of human hair. 22 of the 41 "contaminated" samples came from feed mills that do not handle prohibited material, so it is impossible that these samples would be contaminated with BSE. In summary, of the 41 "contaminated" samples CFIA was able to determine in 90% of the cases that the contaminant was NOT prohibited material. In the remaining 10% of the cases (four samples) they were unable to definitively say what the contaminant was.

So the the study does not tell us that Canadian feed is contaminated with possible BSE agent. Rather, it tells us that direct microscopy alone is not adequate to definitively identify foreign material in all feed samples examined by CFIA personnel. The Vancouver Sun, through the Canadian Freedom of Information Act, was able to obtain a copy of an internal memo that was intended to keep superiors at CFIA informed about the study. Basically the memo said "here's what we are studying, here are the raw results, we are going to do an analysis". Dr. Evans explained that final results of the study are not yet completed, but when they are they will be available on their website for anyone to examine. As he explained to us, this may be a labeling issue (maybe the feed label should state that feed may contain small amounts of bug parts or feathers) but it is not a compliance issue. In other words, it is a case of a sensationalistic news reporter trying manufacture a story where there really isn't one, much like we see out of the U.S. press on a regular basis."
Don Hineman
Dighton, KS

 

[Oldtimer]

frenchie- Every market analyst has a differing opinion on what effect the border opening will have-- depends on whose agenda they are playing to...

I have mine too.....

Last week at the local sale barn cull cows were selling for $50-60 cwt
Bulls were $65-70 cwt.-- IF the border opens March 7th as proposed I doubt we'll see those prices again for several years.........

Read this very slowly....Slowly.....slowly.....The U.S.D.A ruling is for live cattle under 30 months..Compare apples to apples not oranges...If you still can not grasp it reread it.

Wrong Frenchie- Read the USDA's proposal again--- They propose to open the border to boxed beef from OTM (over thirty month) cattle too.....Thats one of the things that got the NCBA and several of the consumer groups up in arms...........

Thats where Gueberts theory fits- send enough live fats (UTM) south to manipulate the fat market down and free up the kill space in Canada-- Use that kill space to kill old cows and bulls in Canada and ship the meat south in boxes and completely destroy the present US cull market.....

 

[frenchie]

frenchie- Every market analyst has a differing opinion on what effect the border opening will have-- depends on whose agenda they are playing to...

I have mine too.....

Last week at the local sale barn cull cows were selling for $50-60 cwt
Bulls were $65-70 cwt.-- IF the border opens March 7th as proposed I doubt we'll see those prices again for several years.........

Read this very slowly....Slowly.....slowly.....The U.S.D.A ruling is for live cattle under 30 months..Compare apples to apples not oranges...If you still can not grasp it reread it.

Wrong Frenchie- Read the USDA's proposal again--- They propose to open the border to boxed beef from OTM (over thirty month) cattle too.....Thats one of the things that got the NCBA and several of the consumer groups up in arms...........

Thats where Gueberts theory fits- send enough live fats (UTM) south to manipulate the fat market down and free up the kill space in Canada-- Use that kill space to kill old cows and bulls in Canada and ship the meat south in boxes and completely destroy the present US cull market.....

The rule requests the following:

Cattle younger than 30 months must carry a CAN brand on the right hip, individual ear tag identification tracing it to its farm of origin and appropriate health of animals paperwork. Cattle must be shipped in sealed containers to designated feedlots or slaughterhouses.
Meat, meat byproducts and meat food products must be derived from animals where all specified risk materials including the brain, skull, eyes, glands, spinal column, vertebral column excluding the tail and dorsal root ganglia have been removed. The small intestine and tonsils must be removed from cattle of all ages. These are the areas considered to carry the infectious BSE agent.
Tallow with less than 0.15 percent insoluble impurities and not mixed with other material of animal origin is acceptable. Gelatin is acceptable if it was derived from the bones of bovines subject to the ruminant feed ban and from which all SRMs were removed.
Sheep and goats younger than 12 months must carry a C brand, appropriate ear tags and health certification papers. Sheep casings from animals under 12 months that were subject to the ruminant to ruminant feed ban are allowed. The USDA is prohibiting the importation of sheep or gaots that are positive, suspect for any transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
Deer, elk and meat are no longer restricted. The USDA is removing the requirement that hunter harvested meat be accompanied by a Canadian government certificate.
Llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicunas are no longer restricted.

 

[frenchie]

Oldtimer...You stated..I think you are wrong there- several areas and states are still restricted from shipping cattle north......




Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005
Canada lifts cattle import restrictions
this document web posted: Thursday March 18, 2004 20040318p10

By Barry Wilson
Ottawa bureau

After more than a decade of pressure from Canadian and American cattle producers, the federal government has agreed to open the border year-round to feeder cattle imports from most areas of the United States.

Effective April 1, feeders from 39 low-and-medium-risk states for bluetongue can be shipped north year-round. Now, they are restricted to seasonal imports.

Cattle from high-risk bluetongue states, including many southern states, can be shipped north if they are tested and found free of the disease or spend 60 days in a low-or-medium-risk state in transit.

In Canada, they must be confined to feedlots and not enter the national herd. There will be no restrictions based on fear of anaplasmosis.

Until last week, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had restricted imports because of fear the diseases could be shipped north. The cattle industry on both sides of the border had insisted the disease risk did not justify the border restriction.

The diseases affect livestock but not humans.

"We have reviewed the science on this," CFIA president Richard Fadden told the Senate agriculture committee March 11. "In respect of anaplasmosis, we decided there are enough controls that can be imposed in-country to prevent the spread of the disease. Basically, we are saying that in respect of anaplasmosis, we are deregulating."

The Canadian cattle industry said it's about time. It has tied Canada's restrictions on feeders moving north to U.S foot-dragging on opening the border to Canadian cattle moving south.

"Our expectation is that with this irritant set aside, our cause of getting cattle across the border will receive more favourable consideration on the U.S. side," said Rob McNabb of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.

American cattle producers did not make that promise but they praised the decision.

"This is a significant development," Kansas cattle producer and National Cattlemen's Beef Association president Jan Lyons said in a statement issued in Washington, D.C. The American cattle lobby said it is committed to science-based border rules.

"Our ability to work with Canada to harmonize our regulations based upon scientific facts and a commitment to fair trade gives us renewed hope that we can also harmonize international regulations relating to BSE," said NCBA chief executive officer Terry Stokes.

Fadden said the decision to open the border is not risk-free, but it is manageable.

"The bottom line is, there remains a risk," he told senators. "If we change the rules as the minister has effective April 1, there is a risk that bluetongue will be transmitted to the national herd. We will have to deal with that. There is also a risk it could be transmitted to wildlife."
[/b][/quote]

 

[Oldtimer]

frenchie
Effective April 1, feeders from 39 low-and-medium-risk states for bluetongue can be shipped north year-round. Now, they are restricted to seasonal imports.

Cattle from high-risk bluetongue states, including many southern states, can be shipped north if they are tested and found free of the disease or spend 60 days in a low-or-medium-risk state in transit.

In Canada, they must be confined to feedlots and not enter the national herd. There will be no restrictions based on fear of anaplasmosis.
---------------

This does not look like unrestricted importing............

This is what both cattle organizations want clarified......

 

[Oldtimer]

Meat, meat byproducts and meat food products must be derived from animals where all specified risk materials including the brain, skull, eyes, glands, spinal column, vertebral column excluding the tail and dorsal root ganglia have been removed. The small intestine and tonsils must be removed from cattle of all ages.


-------------------------------------------------------------------

cattle of all ages.

The USDA proposal is opening the border to boxed beef from cattle of all ages.......That means old cows, bulls EVERYTHING....

Look back at some of the NCBA posts-- this is one of the things that they came out completely opposing....Also the new rule is posted on Agriville..

 

[Oldtimer]

frenchie- I finally found it-- Read number 14-- That opens the border to all beef of ANY age.... That is what has many consumer groups up in arms- the fact that OTM untested beef from a known BSE country will be allowed in and since we have no country of origin labeling they will not be able to tell Canadian from US and make a choice......Importing beef from Canada may make the chicken and hog farmers rich .........

BILLING CODE: 3410-34-P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Parts 93, 94, 95, and 96
[Docket No. 03-080-3]
RIN 0579-AB73
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY:

13. We are providing that meat, meat byproducts, and meat food products derived from
bovines from a BSE minimal-risk region may not be imported into the United States unless an
air-injected stunning process was not used at slaughter and unless the specified risk materials
(SRMs) and the small intestine were removed in the exporting region, consistent with the FSIS
regulations at 9 CFR 313.15 and 310.22 for stunning and processing in the United States. We are
defining SRMs as those materials designated as such by FSIS in 9 CFR 310.22, to include the
brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of
the tail, the transverse process of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the
sacrum), and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age and older, and the tonsils and distal
ileum of the small intestine of all cattle.
14. We are removing the proposed requirement that imported meat derived from bovines
from BSE minimal-risk regions be derived only from animals less than 30 months of age when
slaughtered.
15. We are removing the proposed requirement that meat derived from bovines in a BSE
minimal-risk region that are slaughtered in that region come from animals slaughtered at a
facility that either slaughters only bovines less than 30 months of age or complies with an
approved segregation process.
16. We are clarifying that the final rule applies to "meat," "meat byproducts," and "meat
food products" as defined by FSIS.

 

[frenchie]

frenchie
Effective April 1, feeders from 39 low-and-medium-risk states for bluetongue can be shipped north year-round. Now, they are restricted to seasonal imports.

Cattle from high-risk bluetongue states, including many southern states, can be shipped north if they are tested and found free of the disease or spend 60 days in a low-or-medium-risk state in transit.

In Canada, they must be confined to feedlots and not enter the national herd. There will be no restrictions based on fear of anaplasmosis.
---------------

This does not look like unrestricted importing............




This is what both cattle organizations want clarified......

Oldtimer ....you know fully well that the several states have the same rules in place as Canada..

How can you condemn Canada for rules that are the same..



Tell Oldtimer is it true that R- calf only represents 3 % of American cattlemen..

 

[frenchie]

frenchie- I finally found it-- Read number 14-- That opens the border to all beef of ANY age.... That is what has many consumer groups up in arms- the fact that OTM untested beef from a known BSE country will be allowed in and since we have no country of origin labeling they will not be able to tell Canadian from US and make a choice......Importing beef from Canada may make the chicken and hog farmers rich .........

BILLING CODE: 3410-34-P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Parts 93, 94, 95, and 96
[Docket No. 03-080-3]
RIN 0579-AB73
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY:

13. We are providing that meat, meat byproducts, and meat food products derived from
bovines from a BSE minimal-risk region may not be imported into the United States unless an
air-injected stunning process was not used at slaughter and unless the specified risk materials
(SRMs) and the small intestine were removed in the exporting region, consistent with the FSIS
regulations at 9 CFR 313.15 and 310.22 for stunning and processing in the United States. We are
defining SRMs as those materials designated as such by FSIS in 9 CFR 310.22, to include the
brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of
the tail, the transverse process of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the
sacrum), and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age and older, and the tonsils and distal
ileum of the small intestine of all cattle.
14. We are removing the proposed requirement that imported meat derived from bovines
from BSE minimal-risk regions be derived only from animals less than 30 months of age when
slaughtered.
15. We are removing the proposed requirement that meat derived from bovines in a BSE
minimal-risk region that are slaughtered in that region come from animals slaughtered at a
facility that either slaughters only bovines less than 30 months of age or complies with an
approved segregation process.
16. We are clarifying that the final rule applies to "meat," "meat byproducts," and "meat
food products" as defined by FSIS.

Don,t believe one word of what you posted..

 

[Oldtimer]

Tell Oldtimer is it true that R- calf only represents 3 % of American cattlemen..

Actually frenchie I think if you add R-CALF and NCBA together they represent only about 5% of the cattle producers in the US....The two biggest Agriculture organizations are the National Farmers Union and the American Farm Bureau--which incidentally I also belong to...So I suppose my wanting to get involved in setting the course of the cattle and farming industry makes me triple bad, EH ?...

 

[Oldtimer]

frenchie- I finally found it-- Read number 14-- That opens the border to all beef of ANY age.... That is what has many consumer groups up in arms- the fact that OTM untested beef from a known BSE country will be allowed in and since we have no country of origin labeling they will not be able to tell Canadian from US and make a choice......Importing beef from Canada may make the chicken and hog farmers rich .........

BILLING CODE: 3410-34-P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Parts 93, 94, 95, and 96
[Docket No. 03-080-3]
RIN 0579-AB73
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY:

13. We are providing that meat, meat byproducts, and meat food products derived from
bovines from a BSE minimal-risk region may not be imported into the United States unless an
air-injected stunning process was not used at slaughter and unless the specified risk materials
(SRMs) and the small intestine were removed in the exporting region, consistent with the FSIS
regulations at 9 CFR 313.15 and 310.22 for stunning and processing in the United States. We are
defining SRMs as those materials designated as such by FSIS in 9 CFR 310.22, to include the
brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of
the tail, the transverse process of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the
sacrum), and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age and older, and the tonsils and distal
ileum of the small intestine of all cattle.
14. We are removing the proposed requirement that imported meat derived from bovines
from BSE minimal-risk regions be derived only from animals less than 30 months of age when
slaughtered.
15. We are removing the proposed requirement that meat derived from bovines in a BSE
minimal-risk region that are slaughtered in that region come from animals slaughtered at a
facility that either slaughters only bovines less than 30 months of age or complies with an
approved segregation process.
16. We are clarifying that the final rule applies to "meat," "meat byproducts," and "meat
food products" as defined by FSIS.

Don,t believe one word of what you posted..

Well you know what they say..."You can lead a horse to water........"

 

[frenchie]

frenchie- I finally found it-- Read number 14-- That opens the border to all beef of ANY age.... That is what has many consumer groups up in arms- the fact that OTM untested beef from a known BSE country will be allowed in and since we have no country of origin labeling they will not be able to tell Canadian from US and make a choice......Importing beef from Canada may make the chicken and hog farmers rich .........

BILLING CODE: 3410-34-P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Parts 93, 94, 95, and 96
[Docket No. 03-080-3]
RIN 0579-AB73
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY:

13. We are providing that meat, meat byproducts, and meat food products derived from
bovines from a BSE minimal-risk region may not be imported into the United States unless an
air-injected stunning process was not used at slaughter and unless the specified risk materials
(SRMs) and the small intestine were removed in the exporting region, consistent with the FSIS
regulations at 9 CFR 313.15 and 310.22 for stunning and processing in the United States. We are
defining SRMs as those materials designated as such by FSIS in 9 CFR 310.22, to include the
brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of
the tail, the transverse process of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the
sacrum), and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age and older, and the tonsils and distal
ileum of the small intestine of all cattle.
14. We are removing the proposed requirement that imported meat derived from bovines
from BSE minimal-risk regions be derived only from animals less than 30 months of age when
slaughtered.
15. We are removing the proposed requirement that meat derived from bovines in a BSE
minimal-risk region that are slaughtered in that region come from animals slaughtered at a
facility that either slaughters only bovines less than 30 months of age or complies with an
approved segregation process.
16. We are clarifying that the final rule applies to "meat," "meat byproducts," and "meat
food products" as defined by FSIS.

Don,t believe one word of what you posted..

Well you know what they say..."You can lead a horse to water........"

And you know what R- calf sayes... If you can,t dazzale them with brilliance, Baffle them with bullsh!T

 

[frenchie]

Tell Oldtimer is it true that R- calf only represents 3 % of American cattlemen..

Actually frenchie I think if you add R-CALF and NCBA together they represent only about 5% of the cattle producers in the US....The two biggest Agriculture organizations are the National Farmers Union and the American Farm Bureau--which incidentally I also belong to...So I suppose my wanting to get involved in setting the course of the cattle and farming industry makes me triple bad, EH ?...

Ot...I just wanted to see how many American cattlemen aligned themselves with the animal rights groups ( R- calf members)..

Don,t care about your other involvements. I remember the day we met , I knew you then for what you are....

 

[Oldtimer]

MORAN ENCOURAGES USDA TO DELAY OPENING OF CANADIAN BORDER TO CATTLE


WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Jerry Moran, Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, today called on the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) to maintain restrictions on Canadian beef imports until a better understanding of the risks to America beef producers can be reached.

"With the recent announcement of a third case of BSE in Canada and concerns over compliance with the feed ban, we need to make sure that the American beef industry remains strong," Moran said. "To this point, the USDA has done a tremendous job of keeping the industry safe from BSE. Before we reopen the borders, the investigation ought to be completed to ensure that that safety will continue."

The USDA will be sending a team to Canada to investigate that country's compliance with a 1997 ban on the use of feed containing materials from cattle at risk of having BSE. While the U.S. and Canada have similar feed ban regulations, recent reports indicate that the feed ban may have been violated, expanding the risk of BSE in Canadian cattle.



"It is important that the USDA fully investigate the effectiveness of the feed ban in Canada before opening these markets," Moran said. "The health of the American beef industry, and the ability to regain export markets, cannot be put at risk."

Moran also encouraged the USDA to continue efforts to reopen beef exports to Japan. In 2003, American exports to Japan were valued at $1.39 billion.

 

[frenchie]

MORAN ENCOURAGES USDA TO DELAY OPENING OF CANADIAN BORDER TO CATTLE

"

The USDA will be sending a team to Canada to investigate that country's compliance with a 1997 ban on the use of feed containing materials from cattle at risk of having BSE. While the U.S. and Canada have similar feed ban regulations, recent reports indicate that the feed ban may have been violated, expanding the risk of BSE in Canadian cattle.

REMEMBER PURINA MILLS

It is important that the USDA fully investigate the effectiveness of the feed ban in Canada before opening these markets," Moran said. "The health of the American beef industry, and the ability to regain export markets, cannot be put at risk

oT R- CALF has done a hell of a good job of putting the U.S industry at risk. By associating with the animal rights groups and their comments on b.s.e.

 

[frenchie]

Ot ...I quess they don, t all want the border closed

Chew on this..

U.S. producer builds herd in Canada
this document web posted: Wednesday, December 8, 2004 20041209p53

By Karen Briere
Regina bureau

Ethan Vorhes knows the quality of Canadian livestock genetics and he wants them in his cattle herd.

His parents have 4,000 head of finishing pigs on their farm in Marble Rock, Iowa, an operation built largely on Canadian genetics.

However, to do the same with his cattle business, the 21 year old has been forced to slowly build a Charolais herd on this side of the border, mostly because he can't take his purchases home.

"I just leave them with the people I bought them from," he said during Canadian Western Agribition, where he was showing a heifer in both the First Lady classic and the Charolais show.

But Vorhes, the only American Charolais exhibitor, wants to incorporate those genetics into his Iowa herd.

He has three cows and two heifers in Canada right now and hopes to be able to ship embryos south next spring.

"They fit what I like in cattle better: big easy-doing cows, a lot of hair, they can handle a hard winter," he said.

"I get the genetics I think would do good down there."

He has 50 cows in Iowa, about half of them purebred Charolais and the rest recipients: commercial cows for embryo implants.

However, he also has a herd of small, black Lowlines.

Those are for his nieces and nephews so they can learn to enjoy the cattle business, too, he said.

Vorhes would like to see Charolais have a bigger profile in his state, but purebred cattle aren't the main focus.

"The steer business is really big."

There is little talk about the closed border there, although Vorhes said people have been laid off at packing plants because of it.

"It should open and it will open," he said. "It's hurting our economy quite a bit."

Vorhes hoped to pick up a couple of heifers at Agribition or perhaps during a dispersal sale in Alberta later this month to add to his Canadian collection.

 

[Oldtimer]

frenchie- I know the Canadian cattle- I'm a stones throw from the border--very good herds and very good genetics......The problem now is that the herd is infected with BSE and we don't know yet to what extent and/or why--we need to proceed cautiously and irradicate that infection before we change rules and open borders.........

 

[houstoncutter]

I cant speak for others, but as for me keep the border closed.If not for R-CALF those borders would be open, and we would be suffering from that opening. I seem to remember somewhere in the back of my foggy mind that Canada will not allow in cattle in with blue tongue. Well that seems ok, dont blame em a bit, but whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Got BSE, stay out of our markets!

 

[mwj]

Houston cutter
If you will read back up a few posts they were discussing bluetounge regulations and the changes made. Do you have any concern about the Mexican cattle that come into Texas every week to be fed and slaughtered? For extra credit can you give even a vauge guess as to what there feed regulations are and how many producers in Mexico folow them? What bse testing and tracking procedures do you think they have in place?? These cattle are in your area NOW and more come in weekly, so how close of an eye do you keep on them? By the way Mexico has beef restrictions in place against US beef, but we still alow there live cattle in without much fuss.
your friend
Mike

 

[Oldtimer]

Houston cutter
If you will read back up a few posts they were discussing bluetounge regulations and the changes made. Do you have any concern about the Mexican cattle that come into Texas every week to be fed and slaughtered? For extra credit can you give even a vauge guess as to what there feed regulations are and how many producers in Mexico folow them? What bse testing and tracking procedures do you think they have in place?? These cattle are in your area NOW and more come in weekly, so how close of an eye do you keep on them? By the way Mexico has beef restrictions in place against US beef, but we still alow there live cattle in without much fuss.
your friend
Mike

mwj- There are many restrictions in place already against Mexican cattle- rules requiring quarantining-- hot iron branding (Mx), spaying to guarantee they don't go into the breeding herd-restricted movement to only certain states-- Now if we get COOL up and running you would know if you are eating any of that meat that comes from those cattle........