Canadian feedyard publicizes R-CALF USA members' ownership of cattle

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

August 5, 2004 - In mid-July, Canadian feedyards reported to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that R-CALF USA members have cattle in their feedyards - a situation the feedyard owners opposed.

"On one hand, they (R-CALF) are saying to the American public that our beef is unsafe and unfit for the American public to consume," said Mike Sears with Chinook Feeders, one of the feedyards where R-CALF members have cattle.

"And, on the other hand, they're up here buying cattle, trying to profit from that same situation. They're being fairly hypocritical, as far as we're concerned."

Sears' comments were reported in the July 23 Texas Cattle Feeders Association (TCFA) newsletter, which also reported Canadians are threatening to prevent shipment of fed cattle, owned by an R-CALF USA director, from going to slaughter.

Imports of cattle from Canada were suspended following the determination a cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), found in the United States in December 2003, came from a Canadian herd.

Bill Bullard, R-CALF CEO, said the organization has "no membership criteria" that delves in the members' personal business matters.

He also pointed out the current focus should be on the BSE testing protocol, rather than who owns cattle in Canadian feedyards.

"Several recent reports from Canada suggest that members of R-CALF USA have thousands of cattle in Canadian feedlots," Bullard said on July 28. "Supposedly, these R-CALF members bought Canadian cattle cheap, in a market depressed by export restrictions imposed by the U.S. and other nations, seeking to realize inflated profits when prices are expected to jump once exports to the U.S. resume.

"It is possible that some individual R-CALF members have cattle in Canadian feedlots. They could lose money if exports to the U.S. don't resume quickly enough," Bullard said.

He also pointed out R-CALF "sought and won an injunction to stop expansion of beef and cattle exports to the U.S., urging further BSE-testing of Canadian cattle, and a scientific analysis of the risk of human health and animal health before exports resume."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been asked, by R-CALF, to take the following actions before making a decision on the resumption of Canadian imports:

• Conduct a scientific risk analysis using a balanced panel of experts under the auspices of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences;

• Track and test all Canadian cattle now in the United States;

• Determine the actual prevalence of BSE in the Canadian cattle herd; and

• Conduct a series of public hearings to gain input from both human and animal experts.