Agri Beef says it is cooperating in investigation of imported Canadian cattle

Washington Ag Today August 28, 2009 Boise, Idaho based Agri Beef Co., which includes feedlot operations in Washington, says it has been working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture for several weeks to resolve an error that occurred relating to the importation of cattle from Canada.

Rick Stott, Agri Beef Co. Executive Vice President says there was an error on the paper work so the 402 head of Canadian cattle were not tested for bovine tuberculosis as they should have been because the animals were not going to the company’s El Oro feedlot but to a ranch. R-CALF USA this week called for a USDA investigation into the incident in addition to the WSDA probe.

Stott says this is a Washington state animal health issue not a USDA issue.

Stott: “The reality is the paper work was incorrect. It was stated that the cattle were going to the El Oro feedlot. They did not. They should have been tested for TB and they were not. So we have been working the Washington Department of Ag for several weeks now to resolve the issue and to identify the way to get that taken care of.”

In fact, Stott says the they will begin shipping the cattle to the feedlot this weekend, put them in quarantine and test them all for TB. R-CALF says that domestic cattle in Washington were potentially exposed to disease because of the lack of testing.

The Washington Cattlemen’s Association says the U.S. Forest Service is also investigating this incident because the Canadian cattle may have strayed from private land in Stevens County onto federal grazing land.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.