Beef Short Course stresses - pro-action

By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition

August 14, 2003 -- About 1,100 cattle producers from Texas and other states, as well as several foreign countries, attended the recent three-day 2003 Beef Cattle Short Course.

The short course, which took place Aug. 4-6 in College Station at Texas A&M University, allowed producers to receive a first-hand look at methods to create a national beef cattle ID program.

"Our main goal is to protect the health of our livestock industry," stated Juile Stitt, who is part of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA). "The program we use is just about one of 25 different programs. You have to think in a pro-active manner when dealing with a situation like this."

According to Stitt, on July 1, 2002 Canada implemented their own beef cattle ID system and at the moment, have received 95 percent compliance.

"It wasn't easy to implement this program. Many producers didn't know why we needed this program since, at the time, the industry was a healthy one. It took a lot of education and information to make producers understand why it was a good thing."

She explained that the CCIA wanted the program to work because it helped increase consumer confidence, it ensured market access, and it allowed them to remain competitive.

"We feel it was successful because it was nationally ac-cepted, it met national standards, and we were on a na-tional communications level. By this I mean we brought all the levels of beef production together and made sure their needs were met. Soon, the producers' ideas changed to see the benefit of having a program. It's very important that all levels of production understand why it's important."

Stitt stressed that the program must be industry driven if it's to work. "Don't talk about it being mandatory at first. Keep it simple, efficient, and effective. The key is to let everyone concerned know that we are working together to benefit both animal health and food safety."

Animal ID and traceability is all about "protecting national health," explained Matt Brockman, executive vice president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. "It's about being able to trace the animal, if there is a need."

Brockman reminded producers that the need became more apparent after Sept. 11, 2001. "We need to have some kind of system in place to help with national biosecurity.

"We also need to think about foreign animal diseases. The foot and mouth outbreak wreaked havoc in Europe."

He stated that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is apparently expressing interest in putting together an ID plan. "The USDA is interested in a national ID plan, and their willing to put their money where their mouth is."

Brockman said that producers should not jump to conclusions when dealing with this issue and encouraged everyone to read up on the issue.

"No one has all the answers right now," he ended.

"As an industry, we are not just raising cattle, we are raising food," stated Dan Hale, with the meat science department of Texas A&M University.

"People know that if you want good agricultural products then you need to do a good job raising cattle."

He explained that the term husbandry goes back to biblical times, when a husband gave up his life for his wife. "While the term is used less now, the same aspect applies when raising cattle on your land. You are there to improve your product, both by raising and producing the best cattle that you can."

He stated that this is an important issue because consumers have become more aware as to what is going on with the food they eat. "You also have to deal with those people who are behind either animal rights or animal welfare. The difference between those two terms is that with animal rights, the people feel that the animals are equal to humans. With animal welfare, the people want to make sure that the animals are well cared for and free from distress. We, as producers, should follow along the same terms as animal welfare.

"We must be pro-active and set up to follow the best management practice guidelines. These guidelines are to provide food, water, and care to these animals. We also want to have safe facilities. It's important to think of the care of the animal, as well as their safety. We never want to lose our best management practices."