mad cow found

Luckyfarmer · March 13, 2006, 04:12:29 PM

a confirmed case of mad cow found in Alabama

Kirk_Allen · March 13, 2006, 05:20:26 PM

Sure hope when it goes for final testing they report that it is not Mad Cow. If it is, prepare for the meat market to hit the floor again. Japan will shut the doors again to Beef from the US.

breederman · March 13, 2006, 05:31:32 PM

Sounds like it might be a real old cow, born before the feed ban.

Kansas · March 13, 2006, 10:01:18 PM

Japan already had stopped shipment of beef from the US before this particular mad cow hit due to a veal processor shipping banned product containing backbone. A few days ago, Hong Kong suspended beef imports from us because a packer from colorado sent in product containing bone-they were allowing in boneless product only. Its tough enough to regain lost markets without the packers violating the rules.

Cedarman · March 13, 2006, 10:33:35 PM

Who benefits and who loses if we can no longer export beef? In other words who benefits if the price of beef plummets?

Cowboy Bob · March 13, 2006, 10:41:25 PM

Sure hope its a false alarm. Beef prices starting to dropoff uphere.
Fell 2.00 ahunderd on steers . Milk prices also gettin hit hard.
They tell me heifer calves also droped to 550.00 for a 100 lb.
Milk cows droped to. Its goin to hurt me to . My sales are off right now to.
But the old sayin goes got to get bad before it gets better.
Got to be a older cow that came down had a trace in her, Just like any other
sickness ,something stirs it up its goin to show up. I hope they get this under
contol. Sure hate to loose Japan as a buyer.

estiers · March 14, 2006, 08:25:25 AM

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2006/03/bsestatement3-13-06_vs.shtml

Unfortunately, it was a positive test.

Kirk_Allen · March 14, 2006, 09:53:55 AM

Quote from: Cedarman on March 13, 2006, 10:33:35 PM
Who benefits and who loses if we can no longer export beef? In other words who benefits if the price of beef plummets?

The local consumer will benefit from lower prices, which is good for all us meat eaters. The loser will be the farmer in a big way. Beef prices fall, farmer loses, less beef being exported means less grain being bought, farmer loses again.

Its a vicious cycle. Sure wish us farmers could ban together and control more of the market like the Citrus folks do in Florida.

Tom · March 14, 2006, 10:18:02 AM

Control the market? There are oranges being sold in Florida that were grown in California, South America, and all points east. That used to be a jailable offense. :D

Let someone find a citrus tree with a fruit fly buzzing around and the state chops down every fruit tree within sight. Find one with canker and they start chopping down every citrus tree they can find, with the Georgia border being the only limit.

If you want a good orange from Florida, go to Wisconsin or New Hampshire. We keep the culls and pay as much for an orange as someone in North Dakota.

Roxie · March 14, 2006, 11:17:48 AM

Estiers, thank you for the link! They are confirming the cows age, which the farmer believes to be over 10 years of age....which would place this cow older than the feeding ban of 1997.

This is gonna hurt.

Coon · March 14, 2006, 01:28:08 PM

The way I understand the whole picture is that the Americans will now know how we as Canadians suffered when they banned Canadian Beef from crossing the borders. Also here when the ban was on the beef prices never dropped all that much. Other markets were found and processing plants were needed across the country to uphold our flooded stock of beef that needed processing. IMHO I believe that this needed to happen to strengthen our beef markets in the long term. We all knew that the MAD COW would reach us sooner or later just the same as the bird flu epidemic (or whatever it is called). It will happen to each and every livestock in its turn to have a major disease outbreak. When any type of livestock is highly concentrated into a small area disease will eventually become present. Don't think otherwise or take for granted that a big ban on pork will come. It too will eventually have an outbreak.
:( :(

Brad.

breederman · March 14, 2006, 01:35:10 PM

This cow should have very little impact. She was an old cow that was probably fed animal products before the 96 ban. If a case of b.s.e. was found in an animal born after 1996, and born in the U.S. then we could have problems.

Sprucegum · March 14, 2006, 01:50:19 PM

We had a mad cow in Alberta.

The consumer did not benefit, nor did the poor farmer. The packing plants made a fortune. They were buying at 1/3 the cost and still selling at the usual price to the consumer. Some farmers try to butcher on their own and sell locally but they can get into a lot of trouble from the health authorities.

Dana · March 14, 2006, 01:52:33 PM

According to Estiers link, the BSE was discovered on the farm by the vet. It makes me wonder how often it might happen and no one recognizes it and gets the tissue tested.

Roxie · March 14, 2006, 02:48:02 PM

Finding it is irrevelant unless the cow's spinal cord or brain goes back into the food chain, but as was mentioned above, packing plants violate the rules.
The Canadian ban hurt our dairy industry and STILL hurts. The price of dairy cows went through the roof because that market was closed. I mentioned before in another thread that some of the nicest Holstein's and the biggest were Canadian.