Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns - January 8, 2004

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns

January 8, 2004

The CCC is a weekly report from Washington D.C. giving an up-to-date summary of top policy initiatives concerning the cattle industry; direct from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

BSE: NCBA is continuing to address issues relating to the discovery of BSE in a Washington state dairy cow announced Dec. 23.  NCBA is actively communicating with government officials to address the issue of foreign market closure.  As the investigation continues, NCBA is responding to media inquires, and hosting media conference calls as new information arises.  NCBA priorities remain focused on ensuring consumer confidence, ensuring food safety and animal health, and re-establishing normalized trade with our international neighbors so cattlemen can get their businesses back on track.  Important information on the BSE issue is posted at www.bseinfo.org.

Precautions in Place:  The U.S. has conducted a BSE surveillance program since 1990 and this is the first – although now determined to be non-native - case that has been found domestically. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis has conducted a comprehensive multi-year assessment of the risk of BSE in the U.S. The Harvard study concluded that "measures taken by the U.S. government and industry make the U.S. robust against the spread of BSE to animals or humans should it be introduced into this country." While this one case is unfortunate, systems have been built over the past 15 years to prevent this disease from spreading and affecting either animal health or public health. 

Consumers Should Know:  NCBA has aggressively communicated to national and consumer media that Americans should continue to eat beef with confidence. All scientific studies show that the BSE infectious agent has never been found in beef muscle meat or milk, and U.S. beef remains safe to eat. 

* The BSE agent is not found in meat like steaks and roasts. It is only found in central nervous system tissue such as brain and spinal cord.

* All U.S. cattle are inspected by a USDA Inspector or veterinarian before going to slaughter. Animals with any signs of neurological disorder are tested for BSE, all diseased animals are removed from the food system. 
* BSE affects older cattle, typically over 30 months of age. The vast majority of the cattle going to market in the U.S. are less than 24 months old. 
* The U.S. began a surveillance program for BSE in 1990 and was the first country without the disease within its borders to test cattle for the disease. The surveillance system targets all cattle with any signs of neurological disorder as well as those over 30 months of age and animals that are non-ambulatory.
* The U.S. banned imports of cattle and bovine products from countries with BSE beginning in 1989.
* The only way BSE spreads is through contaminated feed. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 1997 instituted a ban on feeding ruminant-derived meat and bone meal supplements to cattle. This is a firewall that prevents the spread of BSE to other animals if it were present in the U.S.

Consumers Remain Confident:  Based upon consumer research and reports from major beef retail and foodservice companies, U.S. consumers’ confidence remains strong in U.S. beef as the safest in the world.  Despite consumers being aware of the BSE finding, confidence in U.S. beef being safe is at pre-BSE levels of 89 percent.  Consumers also have a high confidence in the government and cattlemen to provide them with beef that is safe from BSE.  It is important that we continue to communicate to consumers that the surveillance system works, and that providing consumers with a safe and wholesome product is our top priority.  NCBA has done this in hundreds of interviews with national and consumer news media since Dec. 23.

Opening Export Markets Key:  Currently about 90 percent of the $3.5 billion beef export market has been closed to U.S. product.  Reopening these export markets to beef trade is an absolute top priority for NCBA.  The USDA is continuing to meet on a technical and diplomatic level with all of our major trading partners. NCBA knows significantly improving the current market depends very much on the willingness of our foreign trading partners to base their import decisions on science, and recognize the complete safety and wholesomeness of the beef products we sell.  While the confidence our consumers have shown in our product is important, it’s the foreign markets that we’ve lost that is causing the biggest strain on producers’ pocketbooks. 

DNA Tests Confirm Canadian Origin:  In a joint briefing Jan. 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced that DNA evidence links the BSE-positive cow from Washington state to a Canadian herd in Alberta, Canada.  Both authorities conducted independent DNA tests, and both tests conclude the same results.  NCBA says while these tests confirm this is not a native-born case of BSE, it is critically important the firewalls to prevent BSE – such as the Feed Ban instituted in 1997 on both sides of the border – are synergistic in the United States and Canada. 

Omnibus Appropriations Bill:  NCBA is communicating with members of Congress this week to urge quick passage of the FY 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, as critical funding for safety and health programs await final approval.  H.R. 2673 contains funding for food safety inspectors, veterinarians and the nation’s animal health infrastructure which helps monitor for animal diseases such as BSE.  In the wake of the BSE finding, Congress must stay focused on our infrastructure needs and the priorities of the cattle and beef industry -- food safety and animal health.

Country-of-Origin Labeling:  NCBA expressed disappointment this week at the actions of activists groups who have chosen this critical time try to hold-up passage of the appropriations package in a politically-motivated effort to reinstate the timeline for implementing mandatory country-of-origin labeling.  "Implementing a poorly-written country-of-origin labeling law will only increase the hardship on cattle producers at a time when the industry is already stressed, and for what benefit?," asks Eric Davis, Bruneau, Idaho cow-calf producer and NCBA president. "Country-of-origin labeling will offer absolutely NO benefit to the safety of the beef supply or the health of the U.S. cow herd. Anyone using the BSE issue as an opportunity to re-open the debate on labeling is doing cattle producers a huge disservice."

Canadian Live-Cattle Rule:  NCBA sent a letter to USDA this week requesting that the comment period on the rule for resuming trade of live cattle from Canada be re-opened. NCBA did not submit comments on the proposed rule except to say "we remain completely confident in the safety of Canadian boxed beef from animals under 30 months."  NCBA maintains that science-based information gained from the Washington state BSE investigation will play a critical role in defining our comments on the Canadian rule. That investigation is ongoing, and NCBA hopes a new comment period is opened when that investigation is complete.

Animal ID Expedited:  NCBA is working with USDA and industry partners to accelerate the implementation of a national animal identification system and develop additional safeguards to protect our cattle herd.  On-going efforts on animal ID were stepped up last fall with NCBA coordinating discussions in the bovine species group.  The primary objective of the proposed U.S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP) remains to enhance our existing animal disease surveillance and monitoring systems, and to facilitate our ability to trace animals in the event of a reportable animal health incident.

BSE Information Session/Topeka Farm Show:  NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud traveled to Topeka this week to speak at their BSE Information Session for beef producers as part of the Topeka Farm Show. Moderated by WIBW Farm Director Kelly Lenz, the panel discussion featured insights from industry experts such as Doud, Kansas Animal Health Commissioner George Teagarden, Kansas State University Distinguished Professor in Meat Science Jim Marsden and KLA Vice President of Communications Todd Domer. Panelists covered the economic fall-out from the BSE discovery, the implications for international trade, containment and eradication of the disease, new regulations announced last week by USDA to strengthen the BSE prevention system and the ongoing effort to reassure consumers beef is safe. 

Sage Grouse:  The Fish and Wildlife Service announced yesterday that the petition to list the eastern sage grouse as an endangered species is not warranted.  This is great news for cattlemen mainly because it gives state and federal agencies more time to implement plans to conserve sage grouse populations before the agency makes a determination whether to list the entire population as endangered.  More effective conservation plans reduces the likelihood that the agency will decide to list the species.  Sage grouse range covers most of the Western United States.  Listing the bird could result in significant restrictions imposed on producers' operations.  NCBA and the Public Lands Council are anxiously tracking developments on this important issue.

Congressional Schedule:  The House and Senate are scheduled to reconvene on January 20.

Media Contact:

Tanya Augustson or Karen Batra at 202-347-0228 taugustson@beef.org or kbatra@beef.org

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