US Animal Disease Control ‘Biggest Need’

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Monday, September 10, 2007

US Animal Disease Control 'Biggest Need'

BOWLING GREEN - More than 85 percent of those completing an informal survey at ID•INFO EXPO 2007 believe the United States is not keeping pace with other developed countries regarding animal traceability systems for marketing and disease control purposes.


85% say US lagging behind

ID•INFO EXPO 2007, held August 28-30, in Kansas City, is an event hosted by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA). More than 400 people from allied industries, government, academia, and producers attended the event, which included a trade show with 23 exhibitors.

Animal disease control topped the list when respondents ranked "the biggest needs for implementing animal traceability systems." The second biggest need for implementing animal traceability systems, according to this audience, was export of livestock products. Value-added livestock marketing was next while food safety and country of origin labeling ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Under the "other" needs category appeared "mandatory," "decreased costs of production," "a secure data collection system" and "expansion of the Locate in 48 program."

When posed the question "What level of participation do you feel is necessary for the premises registration under NAIS to become an effective tool in supporting animal disease traceability?" nine (9) out of ten (10) respondents agreed that "80 to 100 percent" participation would be necessary. Of the remaining respondents, just 6.67 percent thought "60 to 80 percent" would be required while 3.33 percent answered "40 to 60 percent" participation. Not one person marked the "less than 40 percent" participation box.

"Incorporate and require ID standards throughout all existing disease programs" and the "other" category received the highest rankings when individuals were asked "What steps do you feel can be taken today that will give the biggest boost toward enhancing participation in a national animal disease traceability system?"

About half of respondents who checked the "other" category saw "mandatory" as the answer to enhancing participation. "Other" write-ins that moved this category to be ranked as the biggest boost included "public education," "create a business plan and stick to it," "guarantee privacy and limit liability to producers for infractions" and "make it an industry-run program."

More details on the survey and ID•INFO EXPO 2007 can be found in the NIAA's Newsletter, animalagriculturequarterly, which is available at http://www.animalagriculture.org. While at that website, visitors might also wish to click on the "Proceedings" button for all presentations from the event.

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture provides a forum for building consensus and advancing solutions for animal agriculture and provides continuing education and communication linkages for animal agriculture professionals. NIAA is dedicated to programs that: work towards the eradication of disease that pose risk to the health of animals, wildlife and humans; promote a safe and wholesome from supply for our nation and abroad; and promote best practices in environmental stewardship, animal health and well-being. NIAA members represent all facets of animal agriculture.


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More than 85 percent of those completing an informal survey at ID•INFO EXPO 2007 believe the United States is not keeping pace with other developed countries regarding animal traceability systems for marketing and disease control purposes.

I would expect little else from a forum/convention set up to promote animal ID :roll: ;-) :lol:
 
September 12, 2007

Member Visits Sister Organization in Australia;

Describes Aussie Animal ID Program as 'Orwellian'



Note to Media: R-CALF USA National Membership Committee Co-Chair Joel Gill spent the last week in August 'Down Under' visiting members of our sister organization, the Australian Beef Association. His report is below. Gill also serves as the R-CALF USA Checkoff Committee Chair and is a cattle buyer based in Mississippi. To schedule an interview with Gill, or obtain a photo or bio of Gill, contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson.



Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia – "G'Day," was the greeting on everyone's lips as I met each of the directors of R-CALF USA's sister organization, the Australian Beef Association (ABA), at its meeting before the annual convention, held here on Aug. 28. The ABA was formed in 1997 to represent independent cattle producers across Australia in their fight to be heard by Parliament/Congress in their struggles against the forces of powerful abattoirs/packers, the Meat and Livestock Australia/CBB, and the cattle council/NCBA.



These men and women face the same struggles as R-CALF USA members do. They have stood strong with their one underpaid employee, Secretary Sally Black, as she worked to assist the unpaid board of 14 and the other willing volunteers to bring their membership to a little over 1,000. (With only 20 million people occupying a nation the size of the United States, ABA's 1,000 members is about the same as R-CALF USA's 15,000 in a nation of 300 million citizens.)



It was uncanny how our two sagas meshed so well. While each of our groups seem to face issues at home, it became glaringly clear that it was actually rampant free trade agreements and the international corporations' desires for the lowest-cost products that are our mutual foes.

One of the areas of concern these producers have is the unworkable nature of Australia's National Livestock Identification System (NLIS), which became mandatory three years ago.


While not as comprehensive as our NAIS because NLIS covers only cattle, it was obvious that Australia's NLIS is a nightmarish system of Orwellian proportions. Besides the information put forward in the presentations during ABA's convention, discussions with individual ABA members brought home the message that the traceback system there is greatly flawed. Everyone had a story of varying tag retention rates in their animals – or beasts, as they call them. The few ABA members who stood up to the system by refusing to use the tags at first, told their tales of heavy fines levied and jail time threatened for non-compliance.



One of the ABA directors, Dr. Lee McNichol, a veterinarian, related how he had refused to use the tags and was fined $1,000 ($850 US), then spent another $20,000 appealing his conviction only to lose in the end. He showed me sheet after sheet attributing individual cattle to his pic (premises number) that he did not own. The database had it wrong. When McNichol questioned the compliance officer about this situation and pointed out the error, he was told that it was an administrative matter and could be quickly corrected as soon as the particular animals were moved or sold and thus re-scanned. At that time, the administrator would know where the animals were actually located and a correction could occur.



So much for accurate disease traceback.



Others told how the actual tag retention rate was around 70 percent to 82 percent – not anywhere close to the nearly 100 percent suggested by early data from U.S. animal identification projects as reported by USDA to U.S. producers about the effectiveness of the Australian system. Some of this excessive loss is due to poor application procedures of producers, but most is due to the net-type of fencing widely utilized by producers, which will snag and pull out the tags as the calves rub their heads in it. Far from receiving any kind of premium for participation, if tag replacement is needed, a new orange RFID tag will be inserted in the animal's ear. All cattle with these orange ear tags receive a discount at sale because they no longer qualify as having "guaranteed lifetime traceability". (The original tags are white.) These producers' experiences should give each of us in R-CALF USA a boost to help us continue to energize our fight against NAIS.



Now that Australia is three years into the program, the truth is coming out. While there, the Australian agriculture ministers said several times that this system was crucial for "Assuring our trading partners of age and source verification."



What happened to health traceback?



During my one-week stay, a true health crisis did arise. Equine influenza was discovered, which brought all movement of horses nationwide to a complete halt, much as would happen in the U.S. if a case of foot-and-mouth disease were detected in cattle. Horse racing, the third largest industry in Australia, was delayed nationwide, but ultimately reopened everywhere except the states of Queensland and New South Wales, which are still counting the costs of the suspension in the tens of millions of dollars, not only to the racing industry, but to the smaller supporting industries as well. The culprits turned out to be two horses imported from Japan that were improperly inspected. Outside imports ruined an economically important national industry.


Can anyone say Canadian BSE?
 
Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer



170+ Groups Request Competition Reforms in 2007 Farm Bill

Washington, D.C. (September 6, 2007) – R-CALF USA is one of more than 170 organizations urging Congress to adopt meaningful market and competition reforms in the 2007 Farm Bill.

On Tuesday, the competition coalition sent letters to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., that asked for improvements to the House version of the Farm Bill that would benefit Rural America.

"You have the opportunity to improve upon the House version and provide the leadership necessary to facilitate fair and transparent livestock and poultry markets, and balance the economic relationships among producers and meat processors," the letter states. "Modern technology allows independent livestock and poultry producers to be as innovative and efficient as the largest operations and the vertically integrated supply chains. The combination of technology and carefully balanced government rules to spur competition will increasingly spread the wealth of the food industry throughout America's rural communities.

"Congress has an opportunity with the 2007 Farm Bill to help independent farmers, ranchers and contract farmers continue their role as a major economic engine in their communities," the letter emphasized.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Friday, September 07, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer


Cattle Producers Ask Senate Agriculture Committee
to Include Competition Title in Farm Bill

Washington, D.C. (September 6, 2007) – The Senate Agriculture Committee is preparing its version of the 2007 Farm Bill this month, and R-CALF USA is requesting that a Competition Title be included in this version to provide needed livestock industry reforms.

"R-CALF strongly supports reforms that would create a level playing field between widely dispersed cattle producers and the highly concentrated meatpacking industry," said R-CALF USA Vice President/Region II Director Randy Stevenson, who also co-chairs the group's marketing committee. "The ongoing consolidation and vertical integration of our U.S. meatpacking industry has tilted the balance of market power away from independent producers, resulting in an erosion of market competition."

"R-CALF also is concerned that recent USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) actions have weakened our protections against the introduction of foreign animal diseases," said R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian who also chairs the group's animal health committee. "We encourage the Senate Ag Committee to adopt reforms to address this critical problem as well."

Specifically, R-CALF USA is asking that the following reforms be included in the 2007 Farm Bill.

1) Require the implementation of mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) no later than Sept. 30, 2008, by incorporating the COOL amendment passed by the U.S. House of Representatives;

2) Limit the packers' unbridled use of price-depressing captive supplies by including the Captive Supply Reform Act (S. 1017) and the limitation on packer ownership of livestock (S. 305) in the 2007 Farm Bill.

3) Incorporate the Competition and Fair Agricultural Markets Act of 2007 (S. 622) to update and strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA) and ensure its enforcement through the establishment of an Office of Special Counsel. This amendment also should clarify that producers need not additionally prove a competitive injury before obtaining protection against unfair practices under the PSA, and packers should not be afforded the defense of a legitimate business justification to avoid PSA sanctions.

4) Amend the Animal Health Protection Act (Act) to address the critical weakness identified by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the R-CALF USA v. USDA lawsuit. The court found the Act does not currently impose any restrictions on how USDA must respond, if at all, to the risk that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) will enter the U.S. from foreign countries.

"As members of the U.S. livestock and meat industry, we also support reforms to address the challenges faced by domestic hog and poultry producers, which include making arbitration voluntary," Stevenson said. "R-CALF is asking for these reforms to ensure open and competitive markets, as well as the safety of our livestock herds."



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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Thursday, September 06, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Eric Nelson Invited to Testify at ITC Hearing on China

Washington, D.C. (September 5, 2007)– R-CALF USA Trade Committee Chair Eric Nelson has been invited to testify Thursday during an International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing titled "China: Description of Selected Government Practices and Policies Affecting Decision-Making in the Economy."

"R-CALF believes it is important that ITC include consideration of China's government policies that affect decision-making in China's cattle and beef sectors," Nelson said. "While China currently doesn't export large amounts of beef to the United States due to health and safety concerns, China's aggressive government policies encourage investment, production and exports, while discouraging imports. Those factors may help China rise as a major producer and exporter of beef.

"R-CALF believes China should be held to its international commitments to ensure that U.S. cattle producers can compete on a level playing field as China continues to develop and engage more vigorously in the global economy," he continued. "One reason China has been able to increase its cattle and beef production so dramatically is because of active government programs that encourage and support domestic production, while shielding it from international competition.

"China also has launched an effort to improve the genetics of its cattle herd and it also has significantly invested in the infrastructure of feedlots and slaughterhouses in east central China while assisting cattle producers there in building a competitive beef production industry in that region," Nelson explained. "Cattle producers also receive feed subsidies and technical assistance.

"China also manipulates its currency to keep exports competitive and imports uncompetitive, and protects domestic producers through health and safety import standards that fail to comply with international standards," Nelson concluded. "As a result of these policies, China has become a world leader in cattle and beef production, and its exports are now growing more rapidly than its imports, despite a quickly growing domestic demand for beef."

Note: A copy of Nelson's testimony will be available Thursday under the "International Trade" link at http://www.r-calfusa.com, or by contacting R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson. Media who need a photo of Nelson also should contact Dodson.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Wednesday, September 05, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

September 4, 2007

An Open Letter to the U.S. Cattle Industry:

Sharon McDonald, wife of former R-CALF USA director Dennis McDonald, and former member Judie Manuel have been submitting letters to various publications that mislead readers by asserting that litigation against former directors and members has absolutely no basis, that the lawsuits are frivolous and wasting producer dollars.

No organization is without occasional problems and disagreements. Normally, their letters should not merit a response; however, R-CALF has had major impacts for producers with its positions on BSE, the Canadian border, and in its role in resolving the problems with COOL – placing it back on track as originally intended: the labeling of foreign cattle/products as such, and not the costly, surrogate program for domestic Animal ID, which COOL had become.

The livestock industry should therefore be informed as to the nature of the lawsuits. It should also be aware of the fact that R-CALF was granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in May. Courts do not grant TROs on claims which are totally lacking in basis as Mrs. McDonald and Mrs. Manuel assert to be the case.

One lawsuit has settled. It involved ownership of the R-CALF USA magazine, which was in dispute. The settlement established that R-CALF owns the magazine.

The remaining lawsuit addresses questions of confidentiality and nondisclosure. Directors, past and present, of any nonprofit organization owe that organization a legal fiduciary duty of loyalty and confidentiality, regardless of whether they agree with all positions taken by that organization.

In order to enhance efficiency, a confidential study was commissioned pursuant to which a number of R-CALF staff, directors, and officers were interviewed, with the understanding that they could respond openly and frankly as answers were confidential. That study was leaked and even appeared on the Internet.

Certain R-CALF documents were turned over to a law firm, one of whose members was former General Counsel for USDA and who was adversarial to R-CALF's interests on both BSE and COOL.

Additionally, one of the defendants had in his possession an R-CALF computer that was not returned until Aug. 30. This individual resigned in February. Various other documents such as membership lists also are in the possession of one or more of the defendants.

R-CALF's board demonstrated integrity and loyalty by seeking to prevent the dissemination of confidential materials, especially those relating to interviews with employees. Indeed, the argument could be made that the board was under an affirmative duty to act as it did to protect employees and preserve confidential information.

In short, one lawsuit has been settled in R-CALF's favor and the remaining lawsuit seeks 1) the return of its property, including all lists and documents, and 2) the prohibition of further dissemination of R-CALF lists, documents, and information by the defendants.

Sincerely,


H. Jay Platt
R-CALF USA Region IV Director



This page was last updated on Monday, September 10, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Cattle Producers to Review Options After 9th Circuit Decision

Billings, Mont. (August 29, 2007) – The R-CALF USA Board of Directors will begin to review options available to the organization after Tuesday's decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) to reject R-CALF USA's appeal in its litigation against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) minimal risk region rule (Final Rule) on imports of cattle from countries affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

"We are, of course, disappointed in this decision, but we certainly won't let it deter us from our goal of strengthening our border protections to prevent the introduction of diseases like BSE into the U.S. cattle herd," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "Our lawsuit reveals the need for Congress to strengthen the Animal Health Protection Act, as the 9th Circuit found that this Act does not currently impose any restrictions on how USDA must respond, if at all, to the risk that BSE will enter the U.S. from foreign countries."

R-CALF USA appealed this case on the basis that the District Court – District of Montana (District Court) erred by not holding a hearing and not carefully reviewing the merits of all of our arguments and evidence before denying our motion for summary judgment. The 9th Circuit agreed with R-CALF USA that the District Court should have conducted such a review. However, rather than remanding the case back to the District Court as R-CALF USA had requested, the 9th Circuit, instead, decided the merits of the entire case on its own. R-CALF USA believes this decision takes a very limited approach to judicial review, asserting that the only proper role of the court is to look at the decision-making process USDA used, rather than considering the adequacy of the support for USDA's decision.

"In the 9th Circuit opinion, the court acknowledges that the evidence R-CALF USA submitted, including evidence showing that BSE is more widespread in Canada than USDA assumed, is 'certainly cause for concern' and calls into question certain USDA decisions, but concludes these facts do not demonstrate the agency failed to consider relevant factors back in 2004 when the agency wrote the Final Rule," Bullard explained.

"R-CALF has made no decisions on what our next steps might be," he continued. "All decisions related to this matter must be approved by our board of directors, which will now consider its options, one of which might include requesting an en banc hearing before the entire panel of 9th Circuit judges.

"R-CALF's litigation represents a monumental effort on the part of the U.S. cattle industry to achieve adequate protections from the introduction of BSE, a disease that the evidence shows is becoming more widespread in Canada than USDA originally anticipated," Bullard pointed out. "Also as a result of our litigation, the U.S. cattle industry has achieved protections it would not have otherwise obtained, including a prohibition against the importation of pregnant cows from Canada, a suspension on imports of beef from Canadian cattle older than 30 months of age, and a delay of USDA's plans to allow imports of Canadian cattle over 30 months (OTM) of age into the United States.

"This is only the beginning," Bullard emphasized. "We commit to the U.S. cattle industry that we will move forward with an eye toward determining the best strategy to prevent USDA's OTM Rule (Rule 2) from being implemented."

"It is disappointing that the 9th Circuit panel felt its role in reviewing USDA's action was so limited that it could ignore the fact – clearly demonstrated by Canada's own BSE surveillance in the past two years – that USDA was very mistaken when the agency based its Final Rule on assumptions that Canada's 1997 feed ban would prevent BSE infection in cattle born after the feed ban," asserted R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian. "Canada has now had almost as many BSE cases born after the ban as before, and a number of them born years after USDA assumed Canada's feed ban would eliminate further BSE exposure.

"Other courts, including another panel of the 9th Circuit, have refused to put 'blinders' on when reviewing an agency's assumptions that are now demonstrably wrong," he concluded.

Background: USDA initially planned to reopen the Canadian border to imports of live cattle under 30 months of age and beef products from cattle of all ages, but under pressure from an R-CALF USA lawsuit and public concerns about new BSE cases in Canada, USDA voluntarily limited its plans to include only beef from cattle younger than 30 months of age. This restriction remains in effect today. Canadian imports of cattle and beef under 30 months of age were set to resume on March 7, 2005, but on March 2, 2005, the U.S. District Court – District of Montana (District Court) granted R-CALF USA its request for a preliminary injunction that prevented the implementation of the Final Rule.

After oral argument before a 9th Circuit three-judge panel on July 13, 2005, the preliminary injunction was lifted and the Canadian border reopened to such cattle and beef on July 18, 2005. The District Court concluded that the issues in the case already had been decided in the preliminary injunction proceeding and dismissed R-CALF USA's subsequent motion for summary judgment, requested by the organization on Jan. 6, 2006. In June 2006, R-CALF USA directors voted to appeal this decision. USDA attempted to derail R-CALF USA's appeal using an unconventional Motion for Summary Affirmance. In a Nov. 14, 2006, order, the 9th Circuit authorized R-CALF USA to proceed with its appeal, stating that R-CALF USA's arguments "…are sufficiently substantial to warrant further argument." R-CALF USA filed its final written brief with the 9th Circuit on April 19, 2007, and presented oral argument before the 9th Circuit on July 13, 2007.

Note: To view a copy of the 9th Circuit's opinion, visit the "BSE-Litigation" link at http://www.r-calfusa.com, or contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson at the phone number or e-mail address above.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Wednesday, August 29, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Fox to Represent Organization at ID-INFO EXPO

Kansas City, Mo. (August 22, 2007) – Because of members' ongoing concerns about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) National Animal Identification System (NAIS), R-CALF USA Animal ID Committee Chair Kenny Fox will attend the ID-INFO EXPO here Aug. 28 – 30, which is hosted by the National Institute of Animal Agriculture (NIAA).

"USDA continues to send mixed messages, saying that Animal ID is voluntary at the federal level, but also acknowledging that the agency is moving forward toward implementation of NAIS," Fox said.

"Also, R-CALF members are extremely concerned with the numerous cooperative agreements USDA has signed with 4-H, FFA and, most recently, the American Angus Association," he continued. "Children should not be forced to register their parents' property in order to show livestock, and national organizations should not be trading their membership lists for cash.

"We are urging our members to not participate in premise registration programs because we're concerned that doing so means they're agreeing to any and all NAIS rules, now and in the future," Fox pointed out. "It also seems like USDA is doing its best to not publicize opt-out procedures for producers who want out of NAIS completely.

"I hope that by attending this conference I can bring some concrete answers back to our members instead of more bureaucratic rhetoric," he concluded.

Membership-established policy states that because implementation of NAIS – whether by federal or state governments – raises concerns about its impact on private property, privacy and the ability to conduct business, R-CALF USA opposes any government action that funds or mandates premise registration and individual or industry participation in NAIS. R-CALF USA also opposes making premise registration or animal identification mandatory for 4-H and FFA, which are USDA-driven programs.

Note: To view the agenda for NIAA's ID-INFO EXPO, visit the "Schedule of Events" link at http://www.animalagriculture.org.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Thursday, August 23, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Cattle Producers File COOL Comments
Zogby Poll: 90% of Consumers Say COOL Allows Safer Choices

Washington, D.C. (August 21, 2007) – In its comments filed Monday with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), R-CALF USA urged the agency to issue a new proposed rule for country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for beef – without delay – that would build on the progress of COOL for fish, implemented in April 2005 and based on some of the agency's own actions.

"R-CALF has suggested to USDA several proposed changes to the draft COOL rule for beef that we believe would greatly facilitate the implementation of COOL, as well as lower costs along each step of the production chain," said R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz. "These changes will help address any legitimate concerns about the costs of COOL, while preserving the full benefits of mandatory COOL for producers and consumers. Our proposals can be implemented under the law as currently written, and also are fully compliant with the recent COOL language passed in the House version of the Farm Bill."

R-CALF USA has proposed the following changes to the draft COOL rule for beef:

1) Simplify labeling of beef from animals not exclusively born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S.;

2) Simplify labeling of blended products;

3) Allow retailers to rely on pre-labeled products;

4) Allow packers to use import markings to determine origin;

5) Eliminate requirement to document the chain of custody;

6) Eliminate supplier's duty to demonstrate separate tracking;

7) Reduce the record retention requirement to one year;

8) Specify that supplier affidavits and third-party verification audits are not required.

Another boost to COOL came along this month with an online Zogby poll of 4,508 individuals, which revealed that 90 percent of those surveyed believe that knowing the country of origin of their food will allow them to make safer food choices.

"Now more than ever, COOL matters to consumers, and they deserve the right to know where their food comes from," Schultz said. "The NCBA (National Cattlemen's Beef Association) and other meatpacker trade associations have fought COOL from the beginning and have blasted R-CALF for working with consumer groups whose members want COOL. Now that COOL implementation is moving forward, some of these groups have suddenly changed their tune and are claiming credit for the new language in the House version of the Farm Bill. While we're pleased with this sudden reversal, consumers need to be aware that these groups have always tried to say COOL is not a food safety issue, but in light of recent problems with products from China, that argument is moot."

Note: To view R-CALF USA's COOL comments, visit the "Country-of-Origin Labeling" link at http://www.r-calfusa.com, or contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson. Zogby International conducted interviews of 4,508 adults online. A sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the US, was invited to participate. The online poll ran from 7/17/07 thru 7/19/07. The margin of error is +/- 1.5 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, and gender to more accurately reflect the population. To view Zogby's information, go to: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1345.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 21, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Canadian Trade Complaints About U.S. COOL Unfounded

Billings, Mont. (August 9, 2007) – The Canadian Livestock Producers Against COOL (CLiP COOL), a coalition that includes the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and the Canadian Pork Council, claims that U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements are in violation of both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Those claims are baseless.

"This coalition has absolutely no business dictating what information U.S. consumers should be given regarding the origins of their food, and it is presumptuous for these Canadian organizations to think they have that sort of authority within U.S. borders," said R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz.

"If these Canadian organizations had thought this through, they would have realized that the U.S. COOL law deals with beef sold to consumers at retail stores here in the United States, not exported product," he continued. "The WTO and NAFTA address trade between countries and require that we treat imported product no less favorably than domestic product. The U.S. COOL law does just that – it requires both imported and U.S. beef and pork to be labeled with their respective countries of origin, so R-CALF believes the Canadian coalition's challenge is meritless.

"A few years ago, after the U.S. closed its border to Canadian cattle because of Canada's problems with BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), some Canadian groups threatened to take that matter to NAFTA and the WTO, but the border was closed for legitimate health and safety reasons, and the U.S. had every right to protect its consumers and the U.S. cattle industry," Schultz added.

"Now that we know Canada's BSE problems are worse than expected, more than ever U.S. beef consumers deserve to know where their meat comes from," he concluded. "Congress realized consumers want this type of information, and it passed a law in 2002 to enact COOL. Congress isn't likely to be intimidated because this Canadian coalition threatens to challenge our domestic laws."

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.





This page was last updated on Thursday, August 09, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer







USDA Continues to Jump the Gun on OTM Rule
According to Evidence in Supplemental Comments

Billings, Mont. (August 2, 2007) – R-CALF USA today filed supplemental comments on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) proposed rule (Rule 2) to allow the importation of live Canadian cattle over 30 months (OTM) of age and products derived from Canadian cattle (Docket No. APHIS 2006-0041). The original comment period closed on March 12, 2007.

"USDA reportedly will deliver Rule 2 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) very soon, and R-CALF wants to make certain that the agency has reviewed critical information before proceeding with its final rule to allow the importation of older Canadian cattle into the United States," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.

"R-CALF USA believes – because of new and compelling scientific evidence regarding BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) – that USDA continues to jump the gun in its efforts to force this rule through, further exposing both the U.S. cattle herd and U.S. beef consumers to the substantially greater and unacceptable risk that BSE would be introduced into, and spread within, the United States," Bullard explained.

"In simple terms, Rule 2 makes claims that are refuted by new scientific data that demonstrate Canada's BSE prevalence is worse, and its mitigation measures less effective, than what USDA admits, and USDA continues to ignore these important findings," he asserted. "Since March 12, there have been numerous and significant developments that reinforce the already compelling need for APHIS to completely withdraw Rule 2."

Bullard said that recent publications by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) contain facts that are substantially different from those relied on by USDA.

"For example, the CDC found the proportion of Canadian BSE cases compared to U.S. cases was more than three times greater than what USDA assumed, and the OIE found that the feed bans implemented by the U.S. and Canada in 1997 were only 'partial implemented' feed bans that were not adequate to prevent the spread of BSE, though USDA assumed both feed bans were sufficient," he pointed out.

R-CALF USA has requested that USDA consider several new developments related to BSE, including:

1) A CDC publication that analyzed BSE testing data and found the proportion of Canadian-origin cattle detected with BSE to be 26-fold higher than the proportion of U.S.-origin cattle detected with BSE;

2) An OIE publication that states improvements are needed to both the U.S. and Canadian feed bans to adequately prevent the spread of BSE. In addition, the report recommends the U.S. prohibit specified risk materials (SRMs) in all animal feed;

3) Reports by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on the two BSE cases detected after Rule 2 was published and that were born years after the Canadian feed ban; These reports reveal that numerous herd cohorts and feed cohorts of the two BSE-infected cattle could not be traced, and that at least one cohort was exported from Canada. One report implies that CFIA failed to test several herd cohorts and feed cohorts before disposing of the animals and that CFIA intends to dispose of other animals without testing them for BSE.

"In 2005, USDA permanently relaxed its ban on imported beef and cattle from Canada by changing its regulations to allow both Canadian cattle under 30 months of age and beef from Canadian cattle under 30 months of age into the U.S., despite rising numbers of new BSE cases in Canada," Bullard added. "USDA now proposes to further relax its regulations to begin allowing older Canadian cattle into the United States, despite the discovery of multiple Canadian BSE cases in animals born years after Canada implemented its partial feed ban – a clear indication that the partial feed ban did not prevent the spread of BSE in Canada.

"U.S. beef exports have been hurt because the United States has not implemented a full feed ban, and yet beef and cattle are allowed into the U.S. from Canada – a country with ongoing BSE problems – all because of USDA's desire to create a North American cattle herd instead of following its mandate to prevent foreign animal diseases from entering the United States," Bullard concluded.

Note: To request a copy of the supplemental comments and/or related attachments, contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson.

# # #

R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Wednesday, August 08, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Senate Banking Committee Should Support Measure
to Address Currency Manipulation in International Trade

Washington, D.C. (July 31, 2007) – To further its membership-established policies, R-CALF USA joined with the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA), the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), and Dakota Rural Action (DRA) to urge the Senate Banking Committee to support S. 1677, a proposed bill that would effectively address currency manipulation in international trade.

"It is our understanding this amendment may be offered during tomorrow's Senate Banking Committee hearing," said R-CALF USA Trade Committee Chair Eric Nelson. "We understand this bill will allow both countervailing and anti-dumping duties to neutralize intentional, or unintentional, currency misalignment and would be a major first step toward decreasing the U.S. trade deficit."

In a joint letter sent today, the groups stated that Asian nations – including China – prevent their currency values from responding to market forces. For 13 years, the U.S. Treasury Department has reported that neither China, nor any other country, manipulates currency for the purpose of achieving unfair trade advantages, but that position generally is not deemed credible.

"The distinction between intentional currency manipulation and unintentional currency misalignment is rooted in diplomatic concerns, and this distinction should be eliminated because the effect is the same," Nelson continued.

The letter states that it is generally agreed that China devalued its currency (remnimbi) in relation to the U.S. dollar by about 40 percent in 1995, and has pegged the remnimbi value to the dollar since that time. China's economy has seen explosive growth in size and in exports since 1995 which, in a flexible currency regime, would cause the remnimbi to gain in value. However, the remnimbi value has remained relatively constant, in a gravity-defying feat. The result is a 12-year period in which all China products have had a 40 percent export price advantage, although estimates vary between 9 percent and 57 percent. Conversely, U.S. exports to China are 40 percent more expensive than they should be.

"This affects the entire U.S. economy, including agriculture," Nelson pointed out. "U.S. farmers and ranchers cannot compete with other governments, but can compete with producers in other countries given a level playing field. The U.S. is now a net food importer, in large part because of unfair international trade practices.

"S.1677 will expand the anti-dumping remedy contained within a bill first approved by the Senate Finance Committee, and it includes countervailing duties while taking Treasury diplomacy out of the mix," Nelson concluded. "Farmers and ranchers across the country request objective and effective action to reduce and ultimately eliminate the trade deficit."

In 2004, R-CALF USA members voted the following policy into place: "R-CALF USA requests the Administration to use existing laws to correct currency manipulation by trading partners who have taken action to under-value their currencies vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar."

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Wednesday, August 08, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Cattle Producers Believe House Version of Farm Bill
Fails to Address Needed Cattle Market Reforms

Washington, D.C. (July 27, 2007) – Friday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives approved its version of the 2007 Farm Bill, and while there was positive development on country-of-origin labeling, R-CALF USA believes Representatives could have done more for the U.S. cattle industry.

"We're disappointed that the House version of the Farm Bill didn't include any measures to limit captive supplies, which just allows meatpackers the continued ability to manipulate the domestic cattle market," said R-CALF USA Vice President/Region II Director Randy Stevenson, who also chairs the group's marketing committee.

"We're also disappointed there was no language to limit packer ownership of cattle, and the House version didn't include essential language to update and strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA)," Stevenson pointed out.

R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz said he is glad to see that country-of-origin labeling (COOL) will finally take effect.

"R-CALF is pleased with the outcome of COOL legislation, which will move us closer to implementation and which also lessens the possibility that USDA will again try to undermine the law," Schultz said.

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said the group was disappointed to learn that House rules prevented Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., from introducing her amendment to ban cattle and beef imports from countries with ongoing problems with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

"Cubin's amendment would minimize food safety risks from BSE-affected countries and strengthen U.S. import restrictions, which would boost confidence among U.S. export customers," Bullard said. "Our export customers have imposed some very stringent restrictions on U.S. beef exports, not because we have a continuing BSE problem, but rather because we continue to import the BSE problem into this country from Canada.

"R-CALF will immediately work to see if we can get this amendment included in the Senate version of the Farm Bill, and work to have it as a stand-alone piece of legislation in the U.S. House," Bullard noted. "This is a very important issue to the U.S. cattle industry, so we're going to pursue it aggressively, as our members have directed us to."

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.



This page was last updated on Friday, July 27, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer


Report Suggests Canada May Be Noncompliant with Minimal Risk Rule

Washington, D.C. (July 26, 2007) – In a formal letter sent today, R-CALF USA has asked Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to determine if Canada is in violation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Minimal Risk Region Rule (Final Rule) and explain to Canada that it immediately needs to begin testing all known herd mates and feed mates of BSE-positive cattle in order to maintain its status as a 'minimal risk' region under U.S. regulations.

On Wednesday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released its official report on its 11th native case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which the Canadian government confirmed on May 2, 2007. The report implies that CFIA allowed five cows from the same herd of cattle as the infected cow – which also consumed the same feed as the infected cow – to be destroyed and disposed of without first testing these animals for BSE.

"The report further indicates that CFIA intends to do the same thing with 36 more cows from the infected herd, despite the likelihood that some or all of them consumed the same contaminated feed as the animal that tested positive for BSE," wrote R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian who also chairs the group's animal health committee.

In the United Kingdom (UK) where – along with all of Europe and Japan – a far more comprehensive BSE testing regime is practiced, only 35 percent of BSE-infected herds had only one case of BSE, while 49 percent of the BSE-infected herds had three or more BSE cases, with one herd having 124 cases. (See: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/sta ... -cases.htm.)

"The information compiled from the United Kingdom's BSE testing program enabled it to identify weaknesses in its BSE mitigation program, prompting the United Kingdom to progressively update its elementary ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban on four separate occasions, following the unsatisfactory results realized by its testing data after each preceding update," Thornsberry wrote.

If CFIA is not testing herd mates and feed mates of known BSE cases, as the CFIA report infers (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/ani ... este.shtml), then Canada appears to be in violation of the Final Rule.

"Failure to test cattle with a high likelihood of BSE does not constitute an investigation sufficient to confirm the adequacy of Canada's BSE testing measures, nor does it comply with the requirement that Canada take additional risk mitigation measures, as necessary, following a BSE outbreak," the letter states. (See: Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 2, Jan. 4, 2005, at 463.)

"Moreover, such a failure would render Canada's surveillance program ineffective both for identifying the true population of infected animals and estimating whether its BSE outbreak is on the increase or decline," the letter continues. "The testing of these herd mates and feed mates would, at least, provide us with some information about the likelihood that some of the 92 animals that already had died and the 23 others that could not be located also were likely to be infected with the disease."

In closing, R-CALF USA requested that USDA immediately determine if the inferences in the CFIA report regarding the disposal of untested herd mates and feed mates of the BSE-infected cow are statements of fact.

If so, R-CALF USA requested that USDA notify Canada that it is not in compliance with U.S. regulations and that Canada needs to immediately begin testing all known herd mates and feed mates of BSE-positive cattle to maintain compliance with the Final Rule.

Note: To view the letter, visit the "BSE-Litigation" link at http://www.r-calfusa.com, or contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson.

# # #

R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.





This page was last updated on Thursday, July 26, 2007.



Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer

Reveals How Pending Free Trade Agreements
Fuel Unsafe Food Imports

Washington, D.C. (July 25, 2007) – R-CALF USA has endorsed the beef section of a Public Citizen report on four pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Peru, Panama, Colombia and South Korea, which reveals that these specific agreements, as written, will increase U.S. food imports, but limit the influence on food-safety requirements the United States should be able to require from these countries. These FTAs undermine Congress' plans to counter any possible imported food-safety emergency.

"The way these trade agreements are written, U.S. farmers and ranchers will be locked into a competitive disadvantage," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard, during a joint news conference with Public Citizen and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, today. "As a result, we will continue to see an erosion of our rural communities that are dependent on the U.S. cattle industry because we will be systematically replacing domestic production with larger volumes of imported product."

R-CALF USA believes that at the most fundamental level, the effect of the trade agreements with Panama and Peru would be that the United States would change its position so that the default becomes open borders, or what Bullard called 'a borderless America.'

"And then, if there's a problem with food safety, the burden would shift," Bullard explained. "The burden would be placed upon the shoulders of the importing country to prove that any food safety problems need to be corrected by restrictions or sanctions. That's very different than how we currently trade with other countries, where they must first prove that they are meeting the standards of the United States.

"This is what we've dealt with, with regard to Canada's BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) problems," Bullard pointed out. "USDA considers the default position with Canada as an open border, and R-CALF is concerned that the United States has chosen to favor trade over food safety."

Brown said he, along with Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., will soon be rolling out model trade legislation that will include food and product safety standards.

"Food safety and trade issues are so linked, and I think there are a number of people that have come to the fair trade movement, if you will, because of food safety issues," Brown said. "They understand, as many of us do, that when you look at the gains we've made in this country on food safety, starting with the book The Jungle, and all that we have done with our regulatory structure for food safety, all of that is jeopardized by free trade agreements that pay little or no attention to food safety, and that's really what we're seeing.

"We know that imports of food have gone up dramatically…and that's generally a good thing because it means people have choices and can have better diets," he continued. "But it's less of a good thing if we're not inspecting those imports, and we haven't been. We know as food imports have gone up, the number of FDA inspectors has gone down. In 2003, there were almost 3,200 FDA food inspectors – now there are 2,800.

"The problem, in part, is that this Administration believes you can do free trade on the cheap, and you can't do free trade on the cheap," Brown emphasized. "If we're going to pass trade agreements, they need to reflect the regulatory structure we have in this country, and then we need to do inspections – both at the border, and at the point of process. We do neither of those very well. If we're going to trade on the cheap, the way this Administration wants to do – and has done – then food-safety problems are inevitable."

Brown said the U.S. needs to handle trade in the right way by hiring the number of food inspectors we need and giving the appropriate federal agencies authority to approve or disapprove countries eligible to export.

"The U.S. has seen our food surplus shrink down to almost nothing," Brown pointed out. "We shouldn't be buying food from countries that don't have that regulatory structure in place.

"We also need to make country-of-origin labeling (COOL) mandatory, and we need to require importers to have insurance for a recall, so that when there is a problem, companies don't go out of business when a recall is issued," he added.

Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch Director Lori Wallach said the bottom line of the report's findings is there is no way to fix our imported food safety problems without fixing our trade policies and trade agreements, as well as improving our domestic food safety laws.

"The current U.S. trade model prioritizes the systematic increase of traded food over safety, and these trade agreements lead U.S. consumers to purchase more and more imported food," Wallach said. "However, at the same time, these agreements require that the U.S. rely on foreign regulatory structures and inspectors to make sure that our food is safe. Sadly, many of the foreign countries' systems aren't up to the task."

Note: To get the report in its entirety, or to obtain only the beef section of Public Citizen's report, or to review R-CALF USA's talking points on the Peru and Panama trade agreements, please visit the "International Trade" link at http://www.r-calfusa.com, or contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson.

# # #

R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has more than 60 affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
 

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