It will soon be time for American feeder imports to arrive under the restricted feeder program. This is an import permit program that allows American feeders to arrive at designated Canadian feedlots from Oct. 1 to March 31.
Restricted feeders include steers, bulls, cows or heifers and full-weaned calves that will be fed and slaughtered.
There have been a few changes from last year’s program:
- The feedlot operator must keep a treatment log that identifies the shipment, dates of treatment and product used, or the feedlot operator must provide a signed declaration that all imported animals have been treated in accordance with the permit conditions.
- Once post-entry treatment is complete, the imported animals are eligible for immediate slaughter (following the appropriate withdrawal period), feeding for slaughter, or backgrounding for feeding for slaughter, but cannot enter the national breeding herd.
- Animals are to be inspected by a certified American veterinarian within 24 hours before export, instead of within 24 hours before import, which should alleviate Hawaii and Alaska inspection
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certification problems.
- Exported animals must have ear tags approved by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. This identification must be indicated on the U.S. health certificate.
- Canadian importers must have a CCIA ear tag attached to the animals before importing or as soon as the animals reach their initial destination. The relevant information must be reported to CCIA within 30 days.
- The importer must notify the relevant inspection service of the cattle’s date of arrival, as far in advance as possible, but no later than 24 hours after arrival.
- Cattle from Hawaii are exempt from requiring treatment for anaplasmosis with tetracycline or for parasites.
A copy of the most recent Client Services Information Sheet No. 14, Restricted Feeder Cattle from the United States, is available from district CFIA veterinarians.
The Alberta Cattle Feeders Association wants the USDA ear tag requirement eliminated from the restricted feeder protocol. This is to reduce the extra handling of cattle before importing, which causes additional stress. Eliminating the USDA ear tag will increase the number of U.S. feeder cattle available for sale since some U.S. feeders are unavailable because ranches do not have handling facilities to tag calves. Eliminating the USDA ear tag will also reduce this cost.
U.S. feeders will be put in sealed trucks, as they currently are, and a special U.S. feeder CCIA ear tag will be given to each animal when they are unloaded in a Canadian “designated feedlot.” These numbers would be correlated to import and processing documents, if traceback is needed.
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, CCIA and the cattle feeders have submitted a joint request to CFIA on this matter and asked for a quick response. Alberta cattle feeders are also working with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Montana to get USDA support.
South Dakota applied to the CFIA for approval as a permitted state to the restricted feeder program a few weeks ago. Cattle feeders have requested that
CFIA speed up the review process so that South Dakota will be eligible as a permitted state before Oct. 1.
This fall, ACFA will be conducting a research project with Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre and Montana to gather information to improve year-round trade. The study will:
- Determine whether the bluetongue vector is capable of viral transmission under our geographic conditions.
- Determine the incoming level of previous exposure of U.S. feeder cattle to bluetongue and anaplasmosis.
This information is important for CFIA’s risk assessments to determine the feasibility of import permit programs, such as a proposed summer entry program called the terminal feeder program, and to determine the health status of an area if it is to be recognized under regionalization.
Your assistance is needed to collect information to facilitate year-round access of U.S. feeders.
I will be co-ordinating a serological survey for ACFA and the Montana Stockgrowers Association. The study is designed to bleed 5,000 U.S. feeder imports per year for three years during the fall and winter that are imported into Alberta and Saskatchewan feedlots during the restricted feeder program.
If you have already bought or plan to buy U.S. feeder cattle this fall and winter under the program, please contact Joyce Van Donkersgoed at 403-782-5153 for further information.
The study will bleed a random sample of U.S. feeder imports when they are processed on arrival. Trained technicians will do the bleeding. Your assistance is greatly appreciated, since the information will be used to improve year-round trade based on scientific risk, rather than fear and
speculation.
At the NCBA’s semi-annual meeting in Denver in mid-August, American producers passed a motion for a trade action against Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement due to unfair trade actions based on animal health restrictions. This challenge is a result of their inability to export cattle year-round to Canada unrestricted.
