01/31/05 States joining WCA statement on Canada

American Rancher January 31, 2005 Cattlemen's organizations in Oregon, Wyoming, Minnesota and Nevada have signed on to a position statement issued by the Washington Cattlemen's Association regarding the Canadian border situation and BSE. That statement has been sent to the USDA and will be taken to this week's annual meeting of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. WCA executive Jack Field says the bottom line of the statement is that the ban on live cattle imports should not be lifted until the United States can resume normal trade with its export partners. Field says they also have concerns with several issues like financing the verification and traceability of Canadian live cattle once they enter the U.S. On the issue of potentially bred heifers and their offspring, Field says the WCA believes all females entering the U.S. need to be spayed. Field: "There was some concern that if heifers were to calf in the feedlot, if they took additional time to recover or recondition after calving, if that would put them over the 30 month age break, if they would still be eligible for slaughter or would they be shipped back? Then there is the question of their offspring and how they would be handled.. We felt that things could be handled much easier if they were all spayed." The statement also expresses concerns about Canadian feed ban compliance and says no trading should resume with Canada until health issues regarding bluetongue, anaplasmosis, TB and brucellosis are addressed for all classes of cattle, not just feeder cattle. I'm Bob Hoff