It’s a farmer’s nightmare: finding a case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in their herd.
Beef farmers today still recall how long it took for the sector to recover when BSE hit in 2003—and how difficult it was to make decisions during the evolving and complex crisis.
Canada has one of the safest food systems in the world. Although the chances of a border closure happening in any given year are low, livestock farmers know the impact of an FMD case could be far worse than what they experienced with BSE.
Canada’s livestock sector depends on its export markets—more than 70 percent of hogs and 50 percent of beef produced in Canada are destined for international markets.
The first case of FMD likely would prevent Canada from exporting live hogs and beef cattle, as well as fresh pork and beef products, in all of its key international markets.
Yet farmers still would need to feed and take care of their animals, all the while not knowing when those markets would re-open.
In a crisis like FMD, farmers have no time to lose: decisions must be made quickly to protect animal health and welfare, as well as to lessen impacts to their economic investments.
Much like farmers, the entire livestock sector also would be faced with making rapid decisions with potentially long-lasting impacts.
Governments recognized that farmers and the agricultural sector can’t do this alone. Only through collaborative efforts, involving federal and provincial governments, as well as industry, can this complex and multi-faceted issue be addressed.
When BSE was discovered, there was no comprehensive strategy prepared to deal with the healthy animals.
But the sector and governments have made significant progress in preparedness for a border closure since the incidents in 2003.
Since then, government and industry partnered to develop the Livestock Market Interruption Strategy to better prepare for the impacts of a border closure.
The strategy will help governments act quickly to work towards re-opening markets and to determine where actions, including what transitional assistance measures, would be most effective to mitigate some of the impacts caused by such a crisis.
It also will help the industry by zeroing in on one of the most difficult aspects of a border closure: the challenges of humanely and efficiently de-populating and disposing of healthy animals that don’t have a market and that quickly may face significant welfare challenges associated with the overcrowding of facilities.
In a large-scale border closure, this would involve a considerable effort by governments, as well as the production and processing sectors.
Federal, provincial, and territorial ministers endorsed the strategy at their annual three-day meeting in Calgary in July.
Ministers also endorsed the continuation of this effective partnership to enhance their preparedness for this serious risk.
Dates to mark
•Aug. 27—Summer cattle sale, 9 a.m., Stratton sales barn
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
