LLOYDMINSTER, Alta. – One week before Justin Babey’s 4-H achievement day, his 4-H steer, heifer and cow-calf pair were slaughtered.
A year of combing, petting, clipping, washing, feeding and teaching the animals to lead was lost in an effort to trace the source of Canada’s single confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
“It sucked. I felt sorry for them,” said Justin, 13, whose 4-H projects were slaughtered along with his parent’s entire herd May 25 in a rush to find the origin of the cow and the source of the disease.
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Justin lost his steer, Cartman, a bred heifer, Mary Jane, a cow called Black Beauty and its calf, Fool, born in March.
While Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials don’t know the origin of the cow, they believe it may have spent four years of its life on the Babey farm at Sandy Beach, Sask., just north of Lloydminster.
Two days before the June 1 achievement day the family received news that all the animals from their herd tested negative for BSE in an initial rapid test for the disease.
“Even though the results are negative, I knew there was not going to be an end to this,” said Justin’s mom, Donna, an assistant leader with the Hillmond 4-H Beef Club.
“I think there’s going to be a pile of animals put down to appease our cohorts to the south of us,” she said during a break at 4-H Expo, the achievement day for 20 area clubs.
Like other producers, Babey is worried the American border will remain closed until all the animals in CFIA’s investigation are slaughtered and tested.
Two weeks after the confirmation of BSE in a cow herd from Wanham, Alta., almost 2,000 head of animals on 17 farms are quarantined. About half of them have been slaughtered and are waiting to be tested. There have been no new positive test results.
“This is such a small community, when you come to town you hang your head low because you think they’re blaming you for this outbreak. I felt that I was to blame for it, but I knew that I wasn’t,” said Donna, who sold a group of cattle last year because of the drought.
Cole Payne of the Northminster Beef Club in Lloydminster said he felt sorry for his friend who wandered around the 4-H achievement day without his animals.
“It’s terrible. Most people put a lot of work into their 4-H projects. You can’t halter break an animal in a day. There’s tons of work to do. People don’t realize it,” said Payne, who came over to Babey’s aisle for a visit.
“When it first came out we thought ‘too bad for that guy, good thing it didn’t happen in this area.’ And then it gets traced back to a couple miles from your place,” said Payne, who was shocked to know a connection in the CFIA investigation.
After the news of BSE and its possible connection to feed, Payne checked all the labels on the supplement bags at his farm to reassure himself their feed was safe.
“You think Canada is disease free and you’re safe and this happens,” said Payne, shaking his head.
George Mann, chair of the Lloydminster 4-H Expo, said when the news first broke, the leaders wondered if they should even hold the sale.
“The consensus was to go on with show and sale and support the beef industry,” said Mann.
The day after the achievement day, 175 head of cattle from 13 beef clubs were to be sold. Because the local slaughter plants are backed up and the auction markets are virtually closed, the 4-H members were told to search for local buyers and not rely on large corporate buyers that usually purchase the calves and resell them through the auction market.
“We’re hoping a lot of local people will put them in their freezer,” said Mann, who hoped prices would remain strong for the 4-H calves.
In Calgary, the grand champion
4-H steer sold for $4.60 a pound to the Calgary Stampede and Exhibition. The sale average was comparable to last year.
Cindy Burkholder, provincial 4-H specialist in Fairview, Alta., said support for 4-H has been really good since the discovery of BSE.
“There was a lot of talk of cancelling sales, but support from the buyers has been really good,” she said.
“A lot of people are saying ‘we’re going to support the beef industry’ and what a good way to support the industry than supporting 4-H.”
In the Peace River area, the grand champion calves have sold for $2 to $2.75 a lb. The average for the shows has been $1.20 to $1.66 per lb.
In Brooks, Alta., the average price was $2.25.
“A lot of people are really coming out and supporting the 4-H kids.”
