open border

[KS Livestock]

Sounds like Nov.19 the border is supposed to open.

[Rafter_G]

This is the news release. It is scheduled to be Nov.19th, unless there is a chalenge from a protectionist group, at which point there will have to be another hearing. You would think that since R-Calf has lost the 6 chalenges they have put forward and would therefore understand science has to prevail, but strange things happen. This is good for both sides of the 49th.


U.S. reopens border to older Canadian cattle
Meatingplace.com

USDA on Friday issued its final rule for normalizing cattle trade with Canada and other regions deemed at minimal risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The rule largely conforms to designations and guidelines established by the World Organization for Animal Health.

"We feel the rule is very much scientifically based, and that the risk is very negligible with regard to the introduction of BSE into the U.S.," USDA Chief Veterinarian John Clifford told reporters.

Specifically, the ruling allows Canada to export live cattle born after March 1, 1999, the date Canada ostensibly rid itself of ruminant feed associated with BSE. It also allows Canada to export small intestines without the distal ileum, casings, blood and blood products.

Canadian authorities will be responsible for certifying the age of cattle up for export, and those animals will have to bear a permanent brand or tattoo indicating their country of origin, as well as ear tags identifying them as Canadian.

However, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service doesn't expect the flood of cattle it once did, having slashed its original projection of some 650,000 down to 75,000 for 2008.

"The number of theses older animals that can have their ages verified, meaning confirmation that they are born on or after March 1, 1999, is limited," Clifford said.

Lack of demand?

But with the likes of Swift & Co. having indicated earlier this year that older Canadian animals no longer satisfied the wishes of the its customers, the question is whether a lack of U.S. demand also might be a factor.

APHIS spokeswoman Karen Eggert said the answer is, "no."

"It wasn't based on a lack of U.S. demand," she told Meatingplace.com. "As part of the rulemaking process, we collect information and continue to refine it through regulatory review."

Eggert said the estimate of 650,000 was a "biggest picture" account, but APHIS scaled the scope down after finding that a large number of Canadian slaughterhouses and other operations don't have birth records.

"Canada has a good system," Eggert said. "It's just that some cattle are directed for other use. We had to look only at those that can have their ages verified. When you look at those, the number is 75,000 in 2008. Over the next five years, the average should be 106,000."

In effect

Set to take effect Nov. 19, pending congressional approval, the rule comes more than four years after the United States closed the border to all Canadian cattle following a Canadian case of BSE in May 2003.

The current rule expands on a directive published by USDA in January 2005, when it first resolved to allow the imports of Canadian beef derived from cattle older than 30 months of age.

USDA delayed work on proposal of the final rule, also known as "Rule 2," in July 2006 after detection of BSE in a 4-year-old animal from Alberta, but officially released the proposed rule in January 2007, allowing for three months of public comment.

Canada has reported a total of 11 cases of BSE since its first case. Two occurred during the comment period.

Clifford said his team accounted for those cases while making its decision, maintaining they fit within its initial prevalence projections and that there are safeguards in place to prevent any U.S. outbreak.

"The risk assessment acknowledged that BSE is present in Canada, that there likely would be additional cases identified in the future, and we still concluded these imports would present a negligible risk of establishment of BSE in the United States," he said.

[Travis Eckroth]

does semen and embryos still require quarantine and export qualifications from customs ?

I believe the current policy still is in tact, am I wrong or right?

[Rafter_G]

Travis,
The rules as far as semen & embryos will not change, as they have not in years. Live cattle will be all that is affected by the new ruling by the US Gov't.

[Houdlim]

I was wondering about the ABBI and the cattle being registered?

I thought that "registered breeding stock" could cross. That being said, I do not know if ABBI Reg. is valid... does anyone else?

[Rafter_G]

Russ,
The way I understand it, providing you have a traceback system in place, that can prove herd of origin, and a CFIA tag to prove a birth date, that should satisfy the requirements. So I would think the ABBI registration papers would suffice. It is extremely hard to get any accurate information from a Gov't agency on either side, I don't need to tell you that though, you fought a good fight for a long time.

[Summerrain]

Ok Im dumb to all of this border stuff. So does it mean as of Nov 19th. Bucking stock can be sold back and forth and moved across the borders?

[Travis Eckroth]

if they are born after March 1999, but I don't know how much paperwork will be required, and same rules still apply for semen and embryos

[Summerrain]

Then thats a good thing for both countries I would think.:)

[payetteriverrodeo]

Just wondering:: Are there any restrictions on bucking horeses or any horses for that matter, crossing the border? Canadian horses comming to the US for rodeos and vice versa.

Thanks
Dave

[Five Star Bucking Bulls]

12:23 PM, October 4, 2007

By Bill Tomson

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Agriculture Online



WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Eight U.S. senators have sponsored legislation to try

to bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture from lifting its ban on Canadian

cattle 30 months of age or older as well as meat from those cattle.



Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., John Enzi, R-Wyo., Kent Conrad, D-N.D., Tim

Johnson, D-S.D., John Thune, R-S.D., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, John Tester,

D-Mont., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., introduced the bill - called a resolution

of disapproval - in the Senate Wednesday.



Dorgan, in a prepared statement released Thursday, said he does not believe

Canada can effectively keep out of the U.S. cattle infected with bovine

spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease.


"The Bush Administration based its decision to allow these imports to resume

on overly optimistic assumptions regarding the scope of Canada's mad-cow

problem and the effectiveness of Canada's efforts to control, prevent and

eradicate it," Dorgan said.



On Sept. 14 the U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled its plan to allow

older Canadian cattle across the border, but imports aren't scheduled to resume

until Nov. 19.



The U.S. has banned the older, or "cull cattle," since Canada reported its

first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, in May

2003.



The U.S. lifted its ban on cattle younger than 30 months, which are the bulk

of Canadian exports, in July 2005 because those younger cattle are believed to

be far less likely to be infected with BSE.



USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford, during a Sept. 14 press

conference, told reporters even if a BSE-infected animal were imported "a

series of multiple safeguards" in the U.S. would prevent the spread of the

neurological disease.



Humans can contract BSE through contamination of the food supply.



The USDA has predicted 75,000 head of the older cattle - usually too decrepit

to produce milk anymore - would be sent to the U.S. for slaughter in 2008 once

the ban is lifted. That amount, USDA said, would rise to 161,000 head per year

by 2012.



Dorgan's resolution of disapproval may get "expedited consideration" in the

Senate if 30 senators sign on, according to the statement released by Dorgan's

office. "If the resolution is enacted, it would prevent the ... USDA from

implementing its plan to ease age restrictions on imported Canadian cattle and

beef."



-By Bill Tomson, Dow Jones Newswires



agriculture.com

[Rafter_G]

Just wondering:: Are there any restrictions on bucking horeses or any horses for that matter, crossing the border? Canadian horses comming to the US for rodeos and vice versa.

Thanks
Dave

Can't answer going North, but going south requires health and coggins certificates from your vet, cost about $100-$180, and mine are good for a year

[Rafter_G]

Just wondering:: Are there any restrictions on bucking horeses or any horses for that matter, crossing the border? Canadian horses comming to the US for rodeos and vice versa.

Thanks
Dave

Can't answer going North, but going South requires health and coggins certificates from your vet, cost about $100-$180, and mine are good for a year