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DTN – Wednesday – January 3, 2007 – 4:46 p.m. CST

OMB Leaves USDA Import Rule Unchanged

OMAHA (DTN) -- The White House Office of Management and Budget has completed its review of a proposed USDA rule that would allow cattle over 30 months old from Canada to be imported.

The OMB, which reviews all proposed rules from federal agencies, returned the rule to the USDA on Dec. 29 with no action taken, according to the OMB website. The USDA now has the option of posting the proposed rule in the Federal Register as part of the rule-making process so the rule won't go into effect immediately.

A spokeswoman for the USDA would not comment on the specifics of proposed rule, but information likely will be released soon by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. It's likely the proposal will have a 60-day comment period for supporters and critics to make their cases.

Bill Bullard, chief executive officer of R-CALF USA, said leaders of his Montana-based ranchers' group were already asking members to contact members of Congress to prevent USDA from moving ahead with the rule. With Democrats now controlling Congress, R-CALF leaders think they can prevent the USDA from moving ahead with the proposal.

"We are hopeful that the new Congress will prevent the USDA from the ongoing practice and begin to put the interests of cattle producers and consumers ahead of the interest of the larger corporations that are seeking this free-trade idea," Bullard said.

In March 2005, the Republican-led Senate voted to repeal USDA plans to allow imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months age, but Republican leaders in the House of Representatives would not bring the measure for a vote. Bullard thinks the change of House leadership could make the difference on a rule for older cattle.

While U.S. ranchers may be concerned, most analysts say there would only be a small blip in the cow-cull slaughter if USDA moves ahead with its plans to allow imports of cattle over 30 old from Canada. Jim Robb, director of the Livestock Marketing Information Center, said most ranchers north of the border have reduced their cow herd extensively over the three years because of more packing capacity.

"By the time it happens here, it's going to be pretty much a non-event," Robb said in an interview last month.

In a related matter, R-CALF also has asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its 2005 ruling that reopened the border to live Canadian cattle 30 months of age or younger. R-CALF has argued for the past two years in court filings that USDA "unjustifiably relaxed" import restrictions from counties where cattle have been infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

The Ninth Circuit initially rejected R-CALF's attempts to keep the border closed to Canadian cattle by ruling that the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture had broad discretion for issuing rules within his department's area of oversight.

R-CALF then lost another round in the court case last year when a U.S. district judge in Montana denied R-CALF's request for a full hearing on the Canadian import rule. R-CALF argues that reported cases of BSE in Canada of cattle born after the 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban show that USDA erred in allowing imports of Canadian cattle. R-CALF wants the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to order the district judge to grant a full hearing of the group's arguments.

The latest figures from the USDA show U.S. cattle feeders and packers imported 993,565 cattle from Canada in 2006.

USDA initially considered reopening the Canadian border to imports of older cattle last year, but withdrew that plan after Canadian officials found a BSE-positive cow that was 50 months of age. USDA later resubmitted the proposal to the White House for consideration in late November.

"It's simply too early for USDA to further argue there is no risk with Canadian cattle over 30 months of age," Bullard said.

R-CALF's membership also voted last year to again sue if USDA moves ahead on any plans to reopen the Canadian border to cattle over 30 months old.

(PH/SK)

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