New regulations in the United States that would allow older Canadian cattle and beef to enter the country have moved a baby step forward.
Known as Rule 2, the risk assessment on older Canadian cattle was sent to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on Nov. 24.
It is expected to remain there for review for at least three weeks.
Canadian producers have awaited news on when older animals and breeding stock can move south since the first Canadian BSE case was diagnosed in 2003. No date has been set for when more relaxed border rules would take effect, but trade is likely to resume next year once the rule moves through U.S. government procedures.
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Once the border opens to older animals, the wider market will provide more competition for cows and bulls. Canadian producers hope that having American bidders back in the game will raise prices on cows, bulls and bred animals.
“It’s going to have a very positive effect,” Hugh Lynch-Staunton, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said from his ranch near Lundbreck, Alta.
However, if commercial beef prices rise, it could attract cheaper offshore imports. Since the BSE discovery led many countries to institute trade bans on older beef from Canada, the country has absorbed its own cow beef and imports have been negligible.
Once the proposed rule leaves the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, it must be published for a 30 to 90 day public comment period.
It is expected that the Ranchers-Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund, an American group opposed to allowing more Canadian cattle into the U.S., is expected to challenge the new rule in court.
The proposed rule does not include other species like sheep or goats, said Jennifer Fleming of the Canadian Sheep Federation. She expects another rule will be introduced to deal with non-bovine species.
An earlier initiative to resume imports of older animals was delayed when Canada discovered a new case of BSE in a four-year-old cow from Alberta.
The concern was that the cow was born years after the 1997 feed ban was implemented in Canada. It is commonly believed that BSE is spread among ruminants when they consume protein from infected animals. An enhanced ban on using potentially infected tissue comes into effect in July.
Meanwhile, R-CALF continues to work through the courts to gain a permanent injunction on the first rule that allowed animals and beef younger than 30 months to enter the U.S.
During the summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture filed a motion arguing that the rule should be upheld, but the Ninth Circuit Court decided R-CALF will be allowed to present written arguments.
R-CALF’s briefs are due Dec. 11 and the federal government must respond by Jan. 10. R-CALF may submit a further rebuttal by Jan. 24.
After the briefs are submitted, the court may set a date for oral arguments or it can rule on the basis of the written briefs. There is no deadline for a decision.
According to the R-CALF website, members are being asked to increase fundraising efforts to further pursue their case.
Members are also asked to appeal to Congress to pressure the USDA to strengthen import controls for Canadian beef and cattle.
R-CALF argues “the U.S. remains shut out of important export markets because we continue to commingle Canadian beef and cattle with U.S. beef and cattle.”
