http://www.billingsgazette.com/index...-guest-op2.inc

U.S. cattle producers must focus on long-term business
By BOB STALLMAN
American Farm Bureau Federation

The United States must maintain its credibility as a leader in world
agricultural trade. By using our position of leadership to reform world
trade rules we will win greater access for all our farm products,
including U.S. beef. The only way we can maintain that stature is by
focusing clearly on the use of sound, logical science in all our trade
dealings with other nations. This includes the scientifically supported
reopening of our border to Canadian cattle imports.


Our trade competitors on the world stage must never see us blink when
it comes to trade decisions and science. You had better believe that
trade officials in Japan, Europe and elsewhere are closely watching our
debate about the re-establishment of Canadian beef trade after that
nation has installed scientifically approved safeguards to control
bovine spongiform encephalopathy.






Import Canadian cattle



It is clearly in the best, long-term interests of all U.S. cattle
producers to support the Agriculture Department rule designating Canada
as a "minimal-risk country" for BSE. The rule has been developed
through cooperation between the two countries and is firmly based on
international scientific principles.


The most important and effective safeguard to ensuring minimal risk and
to halt any BSE outbreak is a firewall to help ensure that only proper
feed reaches cattle herds. Based on the U.S. inspection team's review
of records and on-site observations, USDA concluded that Canada has "a
robust inspection program, that overall compliance with the feed ban is
good, and that the feed ban is reducing the risk of transmission" of
BSE. In fact, inspectors concluded that the Canadian feed safeguards
were "not substantially different" from the U.S. system.


Keeping our border closed in the face of that sound scientific evidence
would be the blink our competitors are waiting for. They would use that
decision to not only justify their current unscientific trade barriers,
but it is likely they would establish entirely new unscientific schemes
with one goal in mind - keeping American beef and other U.S. food
products off their consumers' tables.


While we wrangle among ourselves over allowing Canadian cattle and beef
into the United States during the short term, the Canadian beef
industry is expending resources and redoubling efforts to promote
Canadian beef to the world in the long-term. As they win new markets,
they are taking markets away from the U.S. beef industry.


As we see beef processing capacity increase in Canada, the longer the
border remains closed, the more likely it will be that when the border
reopens there could be less beef slaughter capacity in the United
States, and ultimately that could mean U.S. slaughter plant closures,
fewer American jobs and fewer market opportunities for U.S. cattle and
beef. The longer we wait, the greater the risk.


We must begin to open our borders to Canadian cattle now. The Farm
Bureau is rightly concerned about the economic health of our cattle
producers, and we will call for an orderly transition period to smooth
out any market adjustments. Our concern about the U.S. cattle industry
is also why we are so adamant about focusing on the long-term good for
our cattle markets and cattle producers.


A growing number of other countries are already beginning to approve
Canadian beef and cattle imports after assuring themselves that Canada
has the necessary BSE-prevention firewalls in place to protect animal
health and food safety.






Identical systems



Because the United States and Canada have worked so closely together,
our beef production systems are virtually identical. Those who choose
to disparage our neighbor's science-based proposals also disparage beef
and cattle from all of North America - including the United States.


While we express our concerns about Japan not accepting U.S. beef, and
we declare there is no justification - scientific or otherwise - for
the Japanese ban, a vocal few continue to fight to keep our border
closed to Canada. Other countries view our refusal to resume beef trade
with Canada as economic-based hypocrisy.


Further delaying Canadian cattle imports could have devastating
long-term impacts on the U.S. cattle industry that greatly outweigh any
positive short-term gain. A growing number of cattle producers are
focusing on the long term and on a solid trade decision based on sound
science. We must reopen our border to Canadian beef. The world is
watching. We must not blink.





Bob Stallman, a Texas cattle and rice producer, is president of the
American Farm Bureau Federation. He writes from Washington, D.C.

---

TC