LIVE CATTLE TRADE AGREEMENT WILL EXPEDITE SHIPMENTS TO CANADA

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 24, 1997 -- A new live cattle trade agreement will not only move more U.S. feeder cattle north into Canadian feedlots, it also shows how successfully state and national organizations can work together to achieve mutual goals, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said today.

   USDA Secretary Dan Glickman and the Canadian government recently announced the implementation of the Northwest Pilot Project, a trade agreement that will waive specific animal-health testing requirements in order to make cross-border shipment of live cattle more accessible to U.S. cattle producers.

   "The pilot project uses science to resolve animal-health-related trade barriers, one of the key initiatives of NCBA policy," said Connie Greig, a cattle producer from Estherville, Iowa who chairs the NCBA Cattle Health and Well-Being Committee.

   Requirements would be waived only from areas recognized as low risk for disease, according to USDA. The pilot project currently covers the states of Montana and Washington. Under the project, testing costs for cattle producers in Montana and Washington are expected to be reduced significantly. Testing currently runs approximately $24 per head.

   "Despite relaxed requirements for importing live cattle, safeguards have been carefully established by the U.S. and Canada to protect against any possibility of disease," said Lynn Cornwell, a cattle producer from Glasgow, Montana, who is president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association.

   Montana's regulations include a permanent hot-iron brand for cattle in the project, and the cattle cannot be moved throughout the state without written permission from the state veterinarian. Specific feedlots in Canada will be eligible to import U.S. feeder cattle without tests for anaplasmosis, bluetongue, brucellosis or tuberculosis. The USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service has agreed to recognize Canada's disease-free status for tuberculosis and brucellosis.

   Last year, approximately 37,000 U.S. cattle were exported to Canada. A Montana State University Study estimated that up to 270,000 head of feeder cattle per year could be shipped from Montana to Canada under the pilot project. Once the project is fully established, industry representatives will work to expand it to include more U.S. states.

   "Initiated almost three years ago by the Montana Stockgrowers Association and the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, the project would not have been possible without the coordinated efforts of state and national industry representatives, Montana and Washington state officials, U.S. government officials and Canadian officials," Greig said. "In Washington, D.C., NCBA worked to ensure that all levels of government were engaged in moving the pilot project forward."

   Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the marketing organization and trade association for America's one million cattle farmers and ranchers. With offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C., NCBA is a consumer-focused, producer- directed organization representing the largest segment of the nation's food and fiber industry.