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Texas Agriculture Archive

November 21, 2003

USDA 'prepared'
for disease outbreak

A top agricultural official said the U.S. Department of Agriculture is better prepared for a foreign animal disease outbreak than prior to Sept. 11, 2001.

He also noted the federal agency is "precedent setting" in how the United States deals with Canada and its beef trade following that country's case of mad cow disease.

Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jim Moseley said the USDA has a foreign animal disease response plan that addresses three core areas: prevention, response and recovery. After Canada's mad cow case, Moseley said, the federal agency had been actively addressing the response part of the plan. However, that focus has changed.

"The real issue is recovery," Moseley said. "That's what you're interested in is whether you are in the zone or out of the zone. If something happens, what you are wanting to do is get to trading again. That's what you want to do, and that's what Canada wants to do."

That was Moseley's response to a question at a recent luncheon in College Station. Moseley and a group of Brazos County agribusiness leaders gathered at the G. Rollie White Visitors Center, part of the Texas A&M University Animal Science Teaching, Research and Extension Complex.

Moseley was in College Station as part of the U.S.-China Conference held at the George Bush Presidential Conference Center and the Texas A&M University campus. He toured Texas A&M Agriculture Program facilities as part of his visit prior to the luncheon.

While Moseley said the closing of the Canadian border has been one of the factors contributing to the current record beef prices, he noted this is a historic point in time.

"This is precedent setting," he said. "How we deal with this issue is more likely how we will be dealt with by other countries if this issue happens to us."

He assured the group that the best science is being used to protect the consumer.

"The point and time when science says you are putting too much safety into it, or in other words, when you are going beyond where it makes sense to try to protect the consumer, then we will look at trying to re-open the border. The issue here is we've already opened the Canadian border with boxed beef. How long is it going to be (before we) start allowing live cattle to cross the border? I've been asked that question a hundred times. I have the same answer. I don't know. I just don't know."

Moseley said there is going to be a transition effect to the U.S. beef markets when Canadian live cattle once again enter the United States. The slow transition will "help buffer the price shock in terms of U.S. cattle prices."

However, he warned cattle producers to be prepared if such an event happened in the United States.