News Update
November 18, 2005

U.S. to Lift Restrictions on Canadian Beef

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday proposed lifting all bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) restrictions on imported Canadian cattle older than 30 months, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Administrator Ron DeHaven said.

The restrictions, in place since Canada’s first case of BSE was disclosed in 2003, were eased earlier this year to allow cattle younger than 30 months to enter the U.S. DeHaven expects the new rule will be proposed in six to eight months and will be followed by a public comment period.

“There would still be an age ceiling, because they’d have to be animals born after Canada instituted an effective feed ban. So, only animals born after 1997 could cross,” USDA spokesman Hallie Pickhardt said.

The rule change is expected to meet continued opposition from the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), which has announced it plans to again challenge USDA on this trade issue.

“We are still drafting a petition for a court hearing on a permanent ban against Canadian slaughter and feeder cattle,” R-CALF USA President-Elect Chuck Kiker said. “Any effort by the agency to move ahead with these plans not only will increase the financial risks to U.S. cattle producers, but also potentially expose the U.S. to an increased risk of importing BSE into the United States,” he continued. 

Internet Video Explains Beef Checkoff Program

The Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB) has released a 28-minute Internet video that examines the Beef Checkoff Program from its 1986 beginning to today.

The video, “The Beef Checkoff — Building Beef Demand,” contains information about what initiated the mandatory beef checkoff, what beef producers are saying about the program today and the impact it has had on the beef industry in the United States. The CBB administers the program, and it is overseen by the USDA.

The video was broadcast on RFD-TV Sept. 19, 20 and 25. To access the video, visit www.beefboard.org/checkoffprograms.aspx. Contact Christian Hawley at (303) 850-3354 to receive the movie on a DVD.

GAO Asked To Evaluate Animal ID

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate the USDA’s plans for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).

Harkin is asking GAO to evaluate and find out the cost of implementing NAIS, costs to producers and government, and determine how effectively USDA has used money for developing NAIS.

“After two years of discussions, USDA has no clear plan for moving forward with a workable system. Producers are getting upset that they still don’t know how much the system will cost them and who will run it,” Harkin said.

— Compiled by Meghan Soderstrom, Angus Productions Inc.