REGINA – International business at Canadian Western Agribition remains strong despite the underlying presence of the BSE crisis.
Stewart Stone of Heartland Livestock, the show’s international chair, said the bovine spongiform encephalopathy border closures and trade disruptions appear to have had little effect on foreign buyers or their interest in Canadian livestock.
“Numbers (of foreign attendees) are consistent with other years,” said Stone.
Alan Misek of Minot, North Dakota, said BSE was “an unfortunate interruption.
“I can’t understand why the border has to be closed now. If you had one it’s only a matter of time until we find ours. The way our cattle industries are linked, it isn’t good science to suggest it is a Canadian problem. This is a worldwide issue and rather than isolate a country, we need to assess risk and manage it accordingly. Canada is no risk,” he said.
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Misek said Canadian bulls make up a large portion of many American herds’ genetics.
“For the guy who (uses artificial insemination) it’s OK. I need bulls for my ranch because I am not always there,” he said.
For that reason Misek said he won’t be buying any animals this year, but said many of his fellow Americans at the show will continue to buy Canadian cattle and will “put them to stud up here and take the semen home. That’s all they need anyway.
“There’s no stigma attached to Canadian cattle. This is industry and government,” he said.
Felipe Vallejo of Le—n, Guanajuato, Mexico, manages sales for Semex Alliance, a Canadian genetics company working in that country.
“We haven’t seen any decline in demand …. What is a problem is not being able to import Canadian dairy cattle. Canadian dairy cattle are an important part of our dairy industry,” he said.
Mauricio Lizano manages Semex operations in Costa Rica and, like Vallejo, was in Regina for the first Semex beef genetics conference held in conjunction with Agribition.
“If BSE in Canada was a problem for the rest of the world, do you think we would all be here? I think you (Canadians) think it might be more of a problem than the cattle industry in the rest of world thinks it is,” he said.
Lizano raises Simmental cattle in Costa Rica and said Canadian genetics “is good and cattle people ask for it. BSE can’t affect the semen or the embryos. Besides, Canada is still considered a very safe supply even of live animals.”
Vallejo said the “support of the Canadian consumer is what is most impressive. Your population hasn’t turned away from beef like in Europe or Asia. You eat more. That tells the world it is safe.”
