Cattle Call to Arms
Argentine FMD Knocking at the Door
Despite Argentina’s well-documented problems with Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), the USDA is looking to allow beef and cattle imports from areas of Argentina deemed to be “safe.”
Never mind the fact that FMD travels by air and can move freely from “safe” to “unsafe” areas. And never mind the fact that Argentina has proven it is no friend to the United States and cannot be trusted to keep FMD from spreading.
USCA is calling on all cattle producers to get involved to beat back USDA’s proposal. We literally can’t afford to be quiet and let some government bureaucrat decide the fate of the cattle industry.
Please contact your Congressional members to voice your concern about regionalized beef trade with Argentina. And, please sign our petition against the USDA scheme.
Feel free to include USCA’s recently-passed petition in any Congressional correspondence. It can be found below.
If you have any questions, or if you’d like additional information, please contact Jess Peterson, USCA’s director of government affairs, at (202) 870-3867.
Whereas:
Foot and Mouth Disease is considered by the American Veterinary Medical Association to be the most economically devastating of all livestock diseases.
Whereas:
An outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in the United States could leave independent cattle producers in financial ruins as entire herds would need to be culled and international markets would be closed indefinitely.
Whereas:
APHIS/USDA has proposed to allow beef and cattle imports from regions of Argentina despite Argentina’s documented Foot and Mouth Disease problems.
Whereas:
Argentina cannot be trusted to keep infected beef from entering the United States and has shown little concern for rural America by defaulting on loans made by U.S. companies and by opposing U.S. farmers in international trade cases.
Whereas:
The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association passed a resolution in July opposing the APHIS/USDA plan because it is unworkable and could create gateways for diseased Brazilian and Argentine beef.
Whereas:
APHIS/USDA has yet to rule out regionalized beef trade from Argentina despite an outcry of opposition from America’s ranchers.
Now be it resolved:
The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association calls on APHIS/USDA to immediately reject the pending regionalized beef trade plan and reaffirm its commitment to protect the domestic herd from Foot and Mouth Disease.
Now be it further resolved:
The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association asks the United States Congress to take whatever steps necessary to block the proposed rule and to protect the domestic herd from Foot and Mouth Disease.
Good Neighbor Committee
P.O. Box 155 - La Salle, CO 80645
info@goodneighborlaw.com
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