Canadians want beef trade based on business

CANADA - Decisions based on business rather than border restrictions is what Canadian cattlemen would like to see when it comes to cattle and beef trade with the United States, said John Masswohl, director of government and international relations for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.

7 December 2006

1 minute read

North America

“We'd really like to see a scenario in all cattle trade where the border doesn't matter,” he said. “We'd like to see cow/calf guys in northern states making business decisions as to whether they send their feeder calves to Alberta or Nebraska or Kansas based on the price they're going to get as opposed to whether there are restrictions at the border or not.”

Prior to the Canadian BSE case in May 2003, most cattle moved from Canada to the United States were slaughter cattle as well as breeding cattle. Currently, Canada can only send feeder animals and slaughter animals under 30 months of age.

“We can't send breeding animals or older animals, so the cow trade isn't there,” he said.

Source:The Prairie Star