Ranchers Hope Mad Cow Case Won't Delay Live Cattle
(December 31, 2004 - CP) Rod Nash was on
a tractor feeding his cattle herd in a blinding snowstorm Thursday morning
when the radio crackled word of a new suspected case of mad cow disease.
Shaking his head, the rancher from Mortlach, Sask., said he started to
wonder if protectionist groups in the United States such as R-CALF will
try to use the situation to delay the long-awaited reopening of the border
to live Canadian cattle. "I hope the border will still reopen as
planned on March 7," said Nash, who like other beef producers has
been struggling to make ends meet since the U.S. banned live cattle trade
19 months ago.
"I've got to be optimistic. My take-home pay has been cut by 60 to 70
per cent."
Beef producers across Canada flicked on their computers and phoned each
other Thursday, eager for more information about the discovery of a
10-year-old Alberta dairy cow suspected of having the disease.
While definitive tests will take a few more days, trepidation replaced the
elation many producers felt on Wednesday when Washington announced that
trade in live cattle under 30 months of age would resume in March.
Rancher Warren Brower said when his son phoned him about the new suspected
case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), it was the last thing he
wanted to hear.
"Wednesday was a good day - it gave us some hope again," Brower
said from his 500-head operation near Aden, Alta., just north of the U.S.
border.
"This morning was a bit of a downer. It concerns me that it is going
to stimulate radical groups like R-CALF to scream and holler again."
Canadian and U.S. government officials were quick to try to reassure
producers and the public about the suspected new BSE case.
The dairy cow, which was born before anti-BSE cattle feed restrictions
were imposed, never made it into the food supply.
Officials from both governments in recent weeks have warned that new cases
of mad cow disease are expected to be found as testing for BSE is stepped
up.
Brower said he can only hope politicians on both sides of the border
handle the situation properly.
The future of his farm, which has been in the family for five generations,
may depend on it.
"It has been pretty rough. We have a lot more debt. I'm just looking
forward to a better year in 2005," he said.
Northeast of Edmonton, rancher Cory Ollikka said he wasn't surprised by
the new suspected BSE case, especially in light of efforts by food safety
officials to increase testing for the disease.
What is really important is how politicians deal with the problem, he
said.
"It is deflating. You're on pins and needles because you are
wondering just what the American administration is going to do with
it," a frustrated Ollikka said from his ranch near Waskatenau.
"What is going to be the next political play? The fear is they are
going to slam it (the border) shut again." |
