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January 13, 2005 Market Advisor: Canadian Border Issues Will Keep Cattle and Lamb Markets Volatile
The much-anticipated USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) final rule for allowing Canadian live cattle, sheep and related meat product imports into the United States was released on Dec. 29, 2004, and published in the Jan. 4, 2005, Federal Register. The rule creates requirements for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) minimal risk regions, and specifically designates Canada as the first country classified as such a region. Other countries that want to qualify may submit requests to the USDA for the designation. Regions classified as minimal risk have had documented cases of BSE, but have regulatory measures in place that make the introduction of BSE into the United States unlikely. The rule is lengthy and can be accessed from the APHIS Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov. Select the hot issues button and then the BSE line. The rule is 316 pages long, a risk document is another 107 pages, an economic analysis is 87 pages, appendices to the economic analysis amount to 26 pages, and the final environmental assessment includes 28 pages, for a total of 564 pages. Those interested in the intricacies of the rule have much reading to do, but I will give a brief summary. The final rule is effective on March 7, 2005. At that time, the United States will accept Canadian cattle for feeding or slaughter, as long as they are slaughtered at less than 30 months of age. Sheep and goats will be accepted for feeding and slaughter, as long as they are slaughtered at less than 12 months of age. Meat from cattle, sheep, goats, deer, elk, caribou, moose and reindeer is allowed. Certain other products that will be accepted include beef livers, tongues, gelatin and tallow. USDA also specified that there are no import restrictions because of BSE for llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicunas. Cattle, sheep and goats entering the United States for slaughter must be identified individually with an ear tag, which allows for a trace back to the premises of origin. USDA veterinarians at the border must seal trucks or trailers transporting the animals and then the trucks must go directly to a packing plant. Feeder cattle, lambs and goats also must have ear tags. In addition, feeder cattle must be branded with a “CAN” and feeder lambs and goats with a “C.” The animal’s tag number, origin, destination and responsible parties must be included on the animal health certificate. Feeder animals must be transported to approved feedlots in sealed trucks and trailers, and can be fed only at one feedlot premise in the United States. Cattle more than 30 months of age, and sheep and goats more than 1 year old are not allowed under the rule. A rule to cover these animals may be issued later. Breeding animals and feeder animals for pasture or winter wheat grazing programs are not allowed. Immediately after the USDA released the rule on Dec. 29, affected commodity groups and members of Congress began analyzing its potential impact and appropriate actions that could be taken. For example, on Dec. 30, the American Meat Institute (AMI) filed a lawsuit to challenge USDA’s continued ban on Canadian cattle more than 30 months of age. On Jan. 4, congressional representative Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) introduced legislation that would keep the Canadian border closed until the United States regains traditional export markets. The Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund-United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF) filed a lawsuit on Jan. 10 to prevent implementation of the rule. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) held a satellite forum with members on Jan. 12 to gather their concerns and will make policy decisions at their Feb. 2-5 annual convention. Several U.S. and Canadian commodity organizations are sponsoring a meeting in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 27 to identify and analyze options that may be necessary to reduce further the BSE risk in both countries. Further complicating the situation may be the fact that two additional Canadian cases of BSE in cattle were discovered on Dec. 30 and Jan. 11. The USDA is sending a technical team to Canada to investigate these new cases. Producers who expect to market cattle, sheep or lambs in the next couple of months should keep in mind that the market will remain quite volatile as news about lawsuits, bills in Congress and other BSE-related information surfaces. ### Source:
Tim Petry, (701) 231-7469, tpetry@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
Market Advisor: |
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North Dakota State University |
