Local cattle sales stayed strong yesterday despite an
announcement Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that an
American cow had tested positive for bovine spongiform
encephalopathy.
Hollister – Local cattle sales stayed strong yesterday despite an announcement Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that an American cow had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Also known as BSE, the brain-wasting affliction is most commonly referred to as mad cow disease. It is fatal to humans.
San Benito Cattle Company President Mitt French said that the news may have a short-term effect on the market, but supply and demand will determine the price of beef in the long run.
“We were going to market some cattle in mid-July and we probably still will,” French said.
French said beef is heavily scrutinized and that Americans should feel safe about eating beef. For French the news is positive, he said.
“The safeguards that have been in place for the last number of years appear to be working,” French said. “BSE isn’t really an issue now, and it won’t be in the future.”
Jim Warren, an owner of the 101 Livestock Market in Aromas, said Monday that he has been encouraging cattle producers to hold their stock until they can take full measure of the market.
“Sometimes it just takes a minute for things to readjust and then it’s OK,” Warren said. “We told people we don’t know what the implications are going to be and if they want to wait a week or so we understand.”
Tuesday’s prices were down slightly from this time last year. Four-hundred pound cattle that brought as much as $1.35 a pound a year ago fetched about $1.25 Tuesday. Seven-hundred pounders were steady at about $1.07. But cattle in the 800-pound class brought less than a dollar, much less than other area ranchers got just last week.
On Wednesday, Warren said the market was actually better than he had expected the previous day.
“We had a sale on Tuesday and the market was steady to strong,” Warren said.
The cow that tested positive for mad cow disease last week was a 12-year-old animal that was born and raised in Texas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.
John Clifford, the USDA’s chief veterinarian, said that the cow’s herd will be searched for additional cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a brain-wasting disease fatal to humans.
“Experience worldwide has shown us that it is highly unusual to find BSE in more than one animal in a herd or in an affected animal’s offspring,” Clifford said. “Nevertheless, all animals of interest will be tested for BSE.”
Clifford said also that he believes the cow was infected before a 1997 ban on so-called ruminant-to-ruminant feeding, in which cattle were fed with bits of ground cattle and chickens, and that the cow was discovered at pet food processing plant.
“I emphasize that this animal did not enter the human food chain,” Clifford said.”
The seven months of news reports that accompanied the testing process frustrated ranchers, but they also saw the testing as evidence of the great lengths federal officials go to ensure that a diseased cow will never reach the food supply.
Local rancher Greg Renz, owner of Agco Hay Company, has sold cattle at the market for the last three weeks, but did not sell this week. Renz noticed a small dip in market prices two weeks ago, after the questionable cow was re-tested for BSE the first time, but said the market had bounced back.
“People realize that the system works,” Renz said. “American consumers can enjoy their beef with confidence.”
Renz is confident that a single report of BSE in America will not hurt his business. Beef buyers and packers have assessed the information and determined that there was no cause for concern Renz said. Although reports of BSE can lower beef prices, Renz does not believe prices will drop this time. But the market is complex and supply and demand effect beef prices at every stage of the process, Renz said.
Matt King contributed to this story.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
