News Update
June 25, 2008

Responding to latest HSUS video

Today, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) released video depicting animal handling issues at a New Mexico auction market to news media. The video also includes clips from previous investigations.

In an embargoed media advisory distributed to reporters last night, HSUS tried to claim “Downer Cows Apparently Still Go to National School Lunch Program,” but admitted today that they do not have evidence to support that claim. The HSUS news release posted online focuses on the number of investigations conducted to-date and President Wayne Pacelle’s statement that “No longer can anyone in government or industry reasonably claim that the abuses we documented at Hallmark were an aberration or an isolated case.”

HSUS says it wants a comprehensive and immediate ban on harvesting any nonambulatory cattle. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently is currently revising the existing downer regulations (in a May 2008 press release the Agriculture Secretary announced he would be initiating a complete ban on the harvest of downer cattle that go down after initial inspection). In addition, HSUS would like the downer ban expanded to include auctions, markets, stockyards and livestock haulers, with a requirement that all nonambulatory cattle at any of these points in the chain or at a harvest facility be immediately and humanely euthanized regardless of the reason(s) an animal is nonambulatory.

— release adapted from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

Seoul to resume imports of U.S. beef on Thursday

South Korean government said it will reopen its market to imports of U.S. beef on Thursday, more than two months after agreeing to a new protocol that sparked massive street protests on fears of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Seoul plans to publish the new quarantine and inspection guidelines outlined in a deal struck with the United States April 18. The plan has since been revised to limit imports of U.S. beef to those from cattle younger than 30 months of age.

Quarantine inspections are expected to begin Thursday. An estimated 5,300 tons of U.S. beef shipped earlier to South Korea have been held in customs and quarantine facilities.

The announcement follows additional technical talks concluded last week by top trade officials of both countries, as well as assurances from the U.S. beef industry that it would limit its exports to product from cattle younger than 30 months of age. More than 90% of U.S. beef exports are derived from younger cattle.

Seoul sought revisions to the deal, which originally called for imports of bone-in and boneless U.S. beef from cattle of all ages, after miscalculating the public’s sentiment on the issue. President Lee Myung-bak has admitted his administration failed to educate the public on the new protocol and the safety of U.S. beef.

However, Lee, whose bid for office was based on a platform of economic reform, recognizes the importance of finalizing a free-trade agreement with the United States and knows that it won’t happen without reopening the market to U.S. beef.

“Honoring an international agreement is essential to maintaining national credibility, especially so for our country, which depends on international trade for 70% of its economy,” Prime Minister Han Seung-soo reportedly said during a meeting with party leaders on Wednesday.

— release adapted from Meatingplace.com

Senator Advises Justice Department to Say No to JBS Merger

JBS-Swift & Co.’s proposed acquisitions of Smithfield Beef Group and National Beef Packing Co. should not be allowed, the chairman of the U.S. Senate’s antitrust subcommittee says.

Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.) sent a letter Tuesday to the Justice Department urging it to block the deals because it would give three U.S. beef packers more than 80% control of the market and reduce competition.

“By reducing the number of major buyers for ranchers’ cattle from five to three — and in some regions even one or two — this deal will give the remaining beef processors enormous buying power,” Kohl wrote. “With little choice to whom to sell their cattle, ranchers will increasingly be left in a ‘take it or leave it’ position.”

Kohl said that if the government opts to allow the JBS deals, it should at least force the company to divest Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding LLC, a part of the Smithfield package.

Kohl’s statement comes at the conclusion of his committee’s review of the pending transactions, which included a hearing in May.

The Justice Department has declined to comment on pending cases.

Safety Important Even With Manure Management

The routine of agricultural production can become perilous when attention to safety takes a back seat to the ease and efficiency of operating farm machinery.

A team of safety specialists from Ohio State University (OSU) Extension will demonstrate the hazards of operating farm equipment at the Great Lakes Manure Handling Expo July 9 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio. Whether a farmer is driving a tractor or spreading manure on the farm, the message is the same: Safety comes first.

“When you are working with mechanized equipment, you have to respect it for the hazards that are potentially present,” says Dee Jepsen, who also holds an appointment with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). “Maintenance is important to keeping equipment working properly and to avoid running into injuries associated with faulty equipment or broken parts.”

In addition to farm equipment safety, Jepsen will also discuss ways to stay safe when working with manure in storage. OSU Extension safety specialists Wayne Dellinger and Tim Butcher will also participate in the safety demonstrations during the event.

The theme of the Great Lakes Manure Handling Expo is “The Economics of Recycling” and will include commercial field demonstrations, educational demonstrations, educational sessions and commercial vendor displays. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by OSU Extension, the OARDC, Michigan State University, Purdue University, Penn State University and Cornell University. Additional sponsors include Ohio Composting and Manure Management and the Midwest Professional Nutrient Applicators Association.

To learn more, visit http://ohio-environmental.org, http://oema.osu.edu, or contact Jon Rausch at 614-292-4504 or rausch.7@osu.edu, or Mary Wicks at 330-202-3533 or wicks.14@osu.edu.

— adapted from news release provided by OSU Extension.

— compiled by Mathew Elliott and Tosha Powell, assistant editors, Angus Productions Inc.