DENVER - Increased beef supplies from Canada are putting U.S. cattle producers in border states out of business, ranchers told an international trade summit.
“Beef is the No. 1 industry in our state, and a lot of people are going out of the cattle business,” Char Price, president-elect of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, told the meeting, sponsored by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Cattle producers in both Canada and the United States have been hurt by the Asian economic crisis, which is cutting into their exports.
But U.S. ranchers argue that Canadian producers are trying to solve their problem by sending beef to northern U.S. states such as Washington, Montana and North Dakota. The additional supplies are putting pressure on U.S. prices, the American ranchers say.
They add that they cannot send their feeder cattle to Canada as easily, often because of concern over health issues and diseases such as blue tongue.
The group agreed to set up a committee to revitalize a cross-border animal health committee to deal with such issues.
“They are going broke in record numbers. They are very, very angry, and they're lashing out at anybody,” Roger Johnson, North Dakota's commissioner of agriculture, said.
U.S. and Canadian trade negotiators have recently begun meeting to look at problems between the two countries.
The issue came to a head recently when South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow said the state would ban trucks carrying Canadian livestock unless the animals were free of certain drugs.
The group that will study the health issues will be made up of representatives of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, and North and South Dakota.
The group will also consider ways of bringing about equivalent inspection standards on both sides of the border.
A grass-roots group of cattle producers, the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate charges that cattle imports from Canada were unfairly priced.
Ben Thorlakson, president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, said he expected the Canadians would prevail if the Commerce Department investigation went forward and both sides would do better spending their money on ways to increase beef demand.
The NCBA has not supported the request to the Commerce Department, but states present at the meeting have.
“Our state stands to lose $50 million alone. We see the trucks coming. We have to take your cattle, and we don't think the money (for the trade probe) is going down a rat hole,” Wade Moser, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, said.
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