Mandatory testing focus of BIG meeting

By John Barlow
Editor

More than 200 ranchers, industry representatives and anyone else affected by the Alberta cattle industry attended the inaugural meeting of the Beef Initiative Group (BIG) last Monday night despite Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
Cam Ostercamp, the author of the controversial discussion paper on bovine spongiform encelophalopathy (BSE) entitled “Behind the Veil of Science: How the mishandling of the BSE crisis could lead to the downfall of the Canadian beef industry” and rancher Grant Hirsche hosted the event held at Hirsche’s ranch east of Aldersyde.
The goal of the meeting was to gather support for BIG which is intended to be a lobby group for Alberta ranchers who support mandatory testing for mad cow disease and other alternatives for aiding beef producers to get the industry back on its feet.
“It is going to take some bold moves to get ourselves out of this pickle,” said Ostercamp. “If we wait until this fall there will not be a plan in place for the banker to get his head around and an excuse to keep us in business. Banks don’t want us to fail, but the banks will start calling in loans.”
Ostercamp, who admitted to losing about $140,000 as a result of the mad cow crisis, was referring to the dire financial straits ranchers and feedlot owners have found themselves in since one case of BSE was discovered in Alberta in May 2003. As a result global markets closed their borders to Canadian beef imports. Cattle prices fell to as low as 35 cents per pound last July from more than a $1 per pound.
At the meeting Ostercamp outlined his discussion paper that promotes BSE testing on Canadian cattle in order to open world markets to Canadian beef and the construction of Canadian-owned processing plants.
These two steps would not only help the Canadian beef industry get back on its feet but also reduce Canada’s dependency on the United States as its major beef customer (about 80 per cent of Canada’s beef exports go south of the border).
“Either we dig a hole and shoot ‘em, or we market them,” said Ostercamp of the oversupply of cull cattle that cannot be exported or processed. We can’t shoot them so what do we do? We test them. We need to convince the politicians to think 180 degrees differently.”
Ostercamp’s view had plenty of support at the BIG meeting as producers are seeing a repeat of last summer as cattle prices have dropped steadily again and are now down to 68 cents per pound.
Hirsche agreed with Ostercamp saying, if foreign markets such as Japan and Korea want Canadian beef tested it should be tested.
“If I have learned anything the last few years it is that the customer is right,” said Hirsche. “If they want a purple (cow) then I will try and raise a purple one. If they want is tested, I test it.”
While many producers and industry leaders spoke about the issues impacting the cattle industry some in attendance were less than satisfied with the outcome of last Monday’s meeting that lasted more than three hours.
Paul Hinman, a rancher and feedlot operator near Lethbridge said there was plenty of talk, but not much action.
“I thought we came here to do some brainstorming,” commented the fiery rancher. “We have not talked enough about answers. We have to be brave enough to throw (every idea) out to find the answers.”
But Hinman, a member of the Alberta Alliance, admitted it will be difficult to get everyone to agree on a course of action.
“Can we come to a consensus here? I doubt it,” he said.
Jim Christie, a long-time rancher from the Trochu area, agreed saying something must be done or the family farms in Alberta could be lost.
“We have got to test the cattle (for BSE),” he commented. “There is potential in Asia. I don’t worry about myself, I worry about my sons who have taken over the enterprise I have been building for 60 years and I see it evaporating.”
The main positive that came from the meeting is that it was obvious ranchers across Alberta are being proactive in dealing with BSE. Several people spoke about plans to build processing plants, others spoke of producer-owned meat superstores along with other possible alternatives. Others such as feedlot operator Rich Pascal, were a little more radical saying Alberta’s oil and gas industry should curtail a portion of their shipments to the United States, American-owned cattle should be banned from being processed in Canada and Canadians should not holiday in the United States.
“The biggest issue lacking in Canadian politics is guts,” said Pascal, who came from Picture Butte to attend the meeting. “We have no guts to stand up to the Americans; no guts to stand up to big business; no guts to stand up against party policy — no guts and no leadership.”
In speaking of leadership, Pascal said neither the federal Conservatives nor Liberals have tabled any concrete plans to address the mad cow crisis.
However, several politicians were in attendance at the meeting.
Unfortunately, the last 90 minutes of the inaugural BIG meeting degraded into a political forum as federal election candidates from every party from various ridings used the meeting as an opportunity to pitch their political platforms.
As the meeting wound down, Okotoks rancher Doug Fraser encouraged everyone to get involved with BIG by making a donation to get the fledgling movement off the ground.
Fraser said additional BIG gatherings will be held throughout Alberta and perhaps move east to Saskatchewan as well.