Oklahoma’s cattle producers are pointing to Japan’s refusal to lift the beef import ban as another good reason to keep Canadian cattle out of the United States. Citing continued concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), Japanese officials said moving too quickly to end the ban on U.S. beef could cause consumers to lose confidence in U.S. beef.
“That is exactly why we are concerned about prematurely reopening our border with Canada,” said Steve Kouplen, Oklahoma Farm Bureau president. “BSE has been found in Canadian cattle but has not shown up in an American-born cow,” Kouplen said.
The USDA plans to reopen the Canadian border in early March and Kouplen said it could not only drive down cattle prices but could also hurt consumer demand.
“Consumers of U.S. beef need to know our product is safe. We can’t allow any doubt to creep into their minds,” Kouplen said.
The Beggs rancher is also concerned about the timing of the proposed border reopening.
“Our producers grazing cattle on winter wheat must pull them off the wheat by March 1 if they intend to harvest the wheat for grain,” Kouplen said. “If the market is flooded with Canadian cattle at this time this could be an economic disaster for our producers.”
Sales of American beef to Japan were halted more than a year ago when a Canadian-born dairy cow on a Washington farm was discovered to have BSE.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s concern about reopening the Canadian border has received support from other farm groups, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation.
“We cannot afford to open the border at this time as there are simply too many unresolved issues vital not only to Oklahoma, but to our entire nation,” U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said.
“Our most important responsibility is the safety of the U.S. food supply and maintaining the confidence of the U.S. consumer,” Congressman Frank Lucas said.
