Oldtimer
Well-known member
June 14, 2006
USDA's Inconsistent BSE Policies
Continue to Cost U.S. Cattle Industry Billions
Billings, Mont. – Following the December 2003 discovery in Washington state of an imported Canadian cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), more than 50 countries closed their markets to U.S. beef. Now, almost three years later, these markets still remain largely closed, and Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) still refuse to correct the problems that contributed to the loss of these significant export markets.
"Making headlines this week is USDA's reported actions of further delaying exports to South Korea at a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars a day because USDA wants to try to force that country to accept beef from Canadian cattle," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "That's wrong on so many levels, not the least of which is that it puts the interests of a few meatpackers that want to slaughter Canadian cattle over the entire remainder of the U.S. cattle and beef industry.
"South Korea has made it clear it will not accept beef from Canadian cattle," Bullard continued. "USDA's decision not to move forward with the agreement shows that the packers have too much influence over USDA, and these obstructionist practices are hurting U.S. cattle producers."
In 2003, the U.S. exported a record 2.5 billion pounds of beef valued at over $3.1 billion. In 2005, the U.S. exported less than three-quarters of a billion pounds, valued at less than $1 billion. A most conservative estimate is that the U.S. has lost over $2 billion per year due to lost exports since 2003, which translates into billions of dollars in losses to U.S. cattle producers.
"It's USDA's inappropriate and inconsistent BSE policies that are the most significant hurdles that continue to plague the profitability of the U.S. cattle industry and prevent the industry from maintaining its separate identity in the global marketplace, which has caused heightened concerns among foreign beef customers," said R-CALF USA President and Region V Director Chuck Kiker. "USDA prematurely rushed to reopen the U.S. market to Canadian cattle and beef long before the agency had restored the lost confidence of our export customers that occurred because the U.S. was commingling Canadian beef and cattle with our own domestic supply,
"USDA's strategy of giving access to the U.S. market to gain access to foreign markets has failed miserably, and this policy continues to hurt our U.S. cattle industry financially," Kiker continued. "USDA's overzealous efforts to convince the world that Canadian cattle and beef are as safe U.S. cattle and beef – despite scientific evidence to the contrary – is disconcerting to U.S. cattle producers.
"Canada has detected more BSE cases than the U.S. under far fewer tests, and unlike the U.S., Canada has detected multiple cases of BSE in much younger cattle that were born well after 1997, when Canada implemented its feed ban," explained Kiker. "This proves Canada's feed ban has not been effective in arresting the spread of BSE there. Despite the obvious difference between the risk status of the U.S. and that of Canada, USDA has refused to take any additional action to protect the U.S. cattle industry from the risk and stigma associated with Canadian cattle and beef.
"Even more alarming are the official, yet inconsistent, arguments USDA has used to advance its trade goals – arguments that directly contradict emerging scientific evidence – all to the detriment of the U.S. cattle industry," he said. "For example, in the agency's Final Rule that reopened the Canadian border to beef and cattle under 30 months of age, USDA shortchanged the U.S. cattle industry by dismissing the significance of Japan's detection of two cases of BSE found in cattle under 30 months of age on the basis these cases 'demonstrated some unusual patterns on Western blot tests, which suggests a possibility that different strains of BSE may exist.' Referencing a scientific document on 'atypical' BSE, USDA claimed these cases could be explained by other factors and were not cause for concern about under 30 month beef and cattle from Canada."
Bullard said USDA then argued in court that the detection of BSE in a 12-year-old Texas cow demonstrated the U.S. is essentially in the same BSE risk category as Canada. Defending its decision to change prior policy and allow imports from Canada, USDA stated, "In fact, the profiles of the U.S. and Canada are not substantially dissimilar. U.S. beef is neither more nor less safe than the Canadian beef that would be imported under the rule."
"After using the Texas case to convince the (U.S.) 9th Circuit (Court of Appeals) that the Canadian border should be reopened because the U.S. now had its own BSE case just like Canada, after a year has lapsed since that case was detected, and after months since a 10-year-old Alabama cow was detected with BSE, only now does USDA disclose that it knew both domestic BSE cases were 'atypical' strains of BSE," said R-CALF USA Vice President Max Thornsberry, who also is a veterinarian. "It appears USDA has withheld and manipulated key scientific information in an attempt to further its political goals, and these actions have damaged the integrity and financial well-being of the U.S. cattle industry.
"Had USDA been forthright and timely in informing the courts and the public that the U.S. cases do not appear to be the same strain as the classical BSE found both in Canada and in the United Kingdom – as the agency so vehemently did when it dismissed the significance of the Japanese cases – the U.S. would likely not be commingling Canadian beef with U.S. beef in the U.S. market, and our export markets would likely have reopened long ago," he said in exasperation.
"USDA's failed efforts to convince foreign countries that Canadian cattle and beef are on par with U.S. cattle and beef is clearly evidenced by South Korea's demands that the U.S. not export any Canadian beef to them," Thornsberry continued. "Our customers have been telling us for years that it is important they know the country of origin of the beef they purchase, and yet, USDA and Congress refuse to implement the Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) law passed in the 2002 Farm Bill that would effectively end the practice of commingling U.S. beef with foreign beef."
Currently, while the U.S. persists in commingling Canadian beef with U.S. beef, even the export markets that have reopened have done so only on a limited basis, and only after imposing stricter import conditions than the U.S. currently imposes on Canada. All the major markets that have partially lifted their bans on U.S. beef – including Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan, Egypt and Hong Kong – prohibit the importation of ground beef, and all but Mexico allow only imports of boneless beef. However, not only does the U.S. readily accept ground beef and bone-in beef from Canada, but USDA also allows the U.S. to import live Canadian cattle to be slaughtered in the U.S. and then to be commingled with U.S. beef.
"To have lower standards for cattle and beef imported into the U.S. than the U.S. is subject to for products we export is an inappropriate and inconsistent policy," Kiker said. "USDA's BSE policies have effectively hamstrung the U.S. cattle industry and are disadvantaging U.S. cattle producers in the global market.
"The fact that USDA continues to prohibit an entrepreneurial meatpacker like Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from voluntarily testing for BSE in order to expand both its domestic and international market shares speaks volumes about the dismal failure of USDA's current BSE policies and the agency's disregard for the well-being of independent U.S. cattle producers," he continued.
"USDA's BSE policies are geared toward the development of a 'North American cattle industry,' which may benefit a few multinational meatpackers but will undermine the premium reputation and global competitiveness of the U.S. cattle industry," Kiker emphasized. "Without the ability to differentiate our herd and our product, the reputation of U.S. beef will be tied to the weakest production standard of our competitors. Our industry must unite to reverse this damaging course."
USDA's Inconsistent BSE Policies
Continue to Cost U.S. Cattle Industry Billions
Billings, Mont. – Following the December 2003 discovery in Washington state of an imported Canadian cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), more than 50 countries closed their markets to U.S. beef. Now, almost three years later, these markets still remain largely closed, and Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) still refuse to correct the problems that contributed to the loss of these significant export markets.
"Making headlines this week is USDA's reported actions of further delaying exports to South Korea at a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars a day because USDA wants to try to force that country to accept beef from Canadian cattle," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "That's wrong on so many levels, not the least of which is that it puts the interests of a few meatpackers that want to slaughter Canadian cattle over the entire remainder of the U.S. cattle and beef industry.
"South Korea has made it clear it will not accept beef from Canadian cattle," Bullard continued. "USDA's decision not to move forward with the agreement shows that the packers have too much influence over USDA, and these obstructionist practices are hurting U.S. cattle producers."
In 2003, the U.S. exported a record 2.5 billion pounds of beef valued at over $3.1 billion. In 2005, the U.S. exported less than three-quarters of a billion pounds, valued at less than $1 billion. A most conservative estimate is that the U.S. has lost over $2 billion per year due to lost exports since 2003, which translates into billions of dollars in losses to U.S. cattle producers.
"It's USDA's inappropriate and inconsistent BSE policies that are the most significant hurdles that continue to plague the profitability of the U.S. cattle industry and prevent the industry from maintaining its separate identity in the global marketplace, which has caused heightened concerns among foreign beef customers," said R-CALF USA President and Region V Director Chuck Kiker. "USDA prematurely rushed to reopen the U.S. market to Canadian cattle and beef long before the agency had restored the lost confidence of our export customers that occurred because the U.S. was commingling Canadian beef and cattle with our own domestic supply,
"USDA's strategy of giving access to the U.S. market to gain access to foreign markets has failed miserably, and this policy continues to hurt our U.S. cattle industry financially," Kiker continued. "USDA's overzealous efforts to convince the world that Canadian cattle and beef are as safe U.S. cattle and beef – despite scientific evidence to the contrary – is disconcerting to U.S. cattle producers.
"Canada has detected more BSE cases than the U.S. under far fewer tests, and unlike the U.S., Canada has detected multiple cases of BSE in much younger cattle that were born well after 1997, when Canada implemented its feed ban," explained Kiker. "This proves Canada's feed ban has not been effective in arresting the spread of BSE there. Despite the obvious difference between the risk status of the U.S. and that of Canada, USDA has refused to take any additional action to protect the U.S. cattle industry from the risk and stigma associated with Canadian cattle and beef.
"Even more alarming are the official, yet inconsistent, arguments USDA has used to advance its trade goals – arguments that directly contradict emerging scientific evidence – all to the detriment of the U.S. cattle industry," he said. "For example, in the agency's Final Rule that reopened the Canadian border to beef and cattle under 30 months of age, USDA shortchanged the U.S. cattle industry by dismissing the significance of Japan's detection of two cases of BSE found in cattle under 30 months of age on the basis these cases 'demonstrated some unusual patterns on Western blot tests, which suggests a possibility that different strains of BSE may exist.' Referencing a scientific document on 'atypical' BSE, USDA claimed these cases could be explained by other factors and were not cause for concern about under 30 month beef and cattle from Canada."
Bullard said USDA then argued in court that the detection of BSE in a 12-year-old Texas cow demonstrated the U.S. is essentially in the same BSE risk category as Canada. Defending its decision to change prior policy and allow imports from Canada, USDA stated, "In fact, the profiles of the U.S. and Canada are not substantially dissimilar. U.S. beef is neither more nor less safe than the Canadian beef that would be imported under the rule."
"After using the Texas case to convince the (U.S.) 9th Circuit (Court of Appeals) that the Canadian border should be reopened because the U.S. now had its own BSE case just like Canada, after a year has lapsed since that case was detected, and after months since a 10-year-old Alabama cow was detected with BSE, only now does USDA disclose that it knew both domestic BSE cases were 'atypical' strains of BSE," said R-CALF USA Vice President Max Thornsberry, who also is a veterinarian. "It appears USDA has withheld and manipulated key scientific information in an attempt to further its political goals, and these actions have damaged the integrity and financial well-being of the U.S. cattle industry.
"Had USDA been forthright and timely in informing the courts and the public that the U.S. cases do not appear to be the same strain as the classical BSE found both in Canada and in the United Kingdom – as the agency so vehemently did when it dismissed the significance of the Japanese cases – the U.S. would likely not be commingling Canadian beef with U.S. beef in the U.S. market, and our export markets would likely have reopened long ago," he said in exasperation.
"USDA's failed efforts to convince foreign countries that Canadian cattle and beef are on par with U.S. cattle and beef is clearly evidenced by South Korea's demands that the U.S. not export any Canadian beef to them," Thornsberry continued. "Our customers have been telling us for years that it is important they know the country of origin of the beef they purchase, and yet, USDA and Congress refuse to implement the Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) law passed in the 2002 Farm Bill that would effectively end the practice of commingling U.S. beef with foreign beef."
Currently, while the U.S. persists in commingling Canadian beef with U.S. beef, even the export markets that have reopened have done so only on a limited basis, and only after imposing stricter import conditions than the U.S. currently imposes on Canada. All the major markets that have partially lifted their bans on U.S. beef – including Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan, Egypt and Hong Kong – prohibit the importation of ground beef, and all but Mexico allow only imports of boneless beef. However, not only does the U.S. readily accept ground beef and bone-in beef from Canada, but USDA also allows the U.S. to import live Canadian cattle to be slaughtered in the U.S. and then to be commingled with U.S. beef.
"To have lower standards for cattle and beef imported into the U.S. than the U.S. is subject to for products we export is an inappropriate and inconsistent policy," Kiker said. "USDA's BSE policies have effectively hamstrung the U.S. cattle industry and are disadvantaging U.S. cattle producers in the global market.
"The fact that USDA continues to prohibit an entrepreneurial meatpacker like Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from voluntarily testing for BSE in order to expand both its domestic and international market shares speaks volumes about the dismal failure of USDA's current BSE policies and the agency's disregard for the well-being of independent U.S. cattle producers," he continued.
"USDA's BSE policies are geared toward the development of a 'North American cattle industry,' which may benefit a few multinational meatpackers but will undermine the premium reputation and global competitiveness of the U.S. cattle industry," Kiker emphasized. "Without the ability to differentiate our herd and our product, the reputation of U.S. beef will be tied to the weakest production standard of our competitors. Our industry must unite to reverse this damaging course."
