f BSE Found In Washington State CHARLENE M. SHUPP ESPENSHADE Lancaster Farming Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. USDA Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced Tues day the confirmation of a positive case of bovine spongiform en cephalopathy (BSE) or “mad cow disease” in an adult Holstein cow in Washington state. As part of the USDA’s re sponse plan, the farm has been placed under quarantine. The farm is located in Mabton, Wash, about 40 miles southeast of Yaki ma, Wash. “Despite this finding, we re main confident in the safety of our beef supply,” said Veneman. “The risk to human health from BSE is extremely low.” The cow was a “downer” cow that was sent to Verns Moses Lake Meats in Moses Lake, Wash. Samples were taken Dec. 9 from the suspected cow as part of USDA’s targeted BSE surveil lance system and sent to the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, lowa for testing. Positive results were returned on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23. Samples have been flown by military aircraft to the Central Veterinary Lab at Weybridge, England for confirmation. Vene man said results will be known in three to five days. USD A has initiated a compre hensive investigation working with state, public health, and in dustry counterparts to determine the source of the disease. USD A will also work with the Food and Drug Administration as they con duct an animal feed investiga tion, the primary pathway for the spread of BSE. BSE is a progressive neurologi cal disease among cattle that is always fatal. It belongs to a fami ly of diseases known as transmis sible spongiform encephalopa thies. BSE has been linked to variant Creutzfeldt Disease (vCJD) in humans, which is be lieved to be caused by eating ani mal tissue from BSE-infected cat tle. The U.S. has conducted a BSE surveillance program since 1990. “The safety of our food supply and public health are high priori ties of this administration and high priorities of USDA. In the A. Jonas King’s 9:00 A.M. Mule Sale 9:00 A.M Sale held at Mel’s Stable, 834 Wallace Rd., New Holland, PA 2 DAY SALE Jk Tuesday, January 13, 2004 Ml Wednesday, January 14, 2004 Location: From Route 23 in New Holland, take Brimmer Ave, South approx. 2 miles to Hill Rd. Turn left to sale on left, OR from Intercourse, take 340 East to New Holland Rd., turn left to Hill Rd , turn right to sale on left TUesday starting at 10 00 a.m we will be selling mares bred to jacks & weanling mule colts 1 Wednesday starting at 9.00 a m we will be selling 2 yeai olds & mature mules' Already consigned '2O maies bred to a big jack from Terry Givens i j ■*4o yearling mule colls fiom Terry Givens k i JgL - 1 40 - 2 year olds from Teiry Givens Approx. 500 W** Head of Mules II you die looking to sell mates bred to lacks oi mule colls, please call (717) 786-7990 at 8 (X) AM or (717) 354-6431' II you are looking toi good big acclimated mules, don't miss these sales Next Mule Sale; Wednesday. February 4, 2004 Terms by: Jonas S. King and Mel Hoover Cash or Honorable PA Checks Only All Announcements Sale Day Take Precedence Over All Advertising. Not Responsible for Accidents Food on Premises jWf < Auctioneer: Mel Hoover ML AU-003111-L m : T*' D 717-354-8397 Home Business 717-354-6431 IT** s **. last year we have tested 20,526 head of cattle for BSE, which is triple the level of the previous year of 2002. The presumptive positive today is result of our ag gressive surveillance program. This is a clear indication that our surveillance and detection pro gram is working,” said Veneman. National Cattle Beef Associa tion (NCBA) commends USDA for their vigilance in monitoring the beef industry. “NCBA has fully supported an aggressive surveillance program in the U.S. to assure that if BSE were introduced it would be de tected and eliminated. We ap plaud the swift action taken by the U.S. Department of Agricul ture to announce the finding of this possible case and its aggres sive investigation of the circum stances,” said Terry Stokes, chief executive officer of NCBA. “The U.S. cattle industry remains com mitted to eliminating this disease from North America. As such, we will work closely with the USDA to carry out a full investigation and determine what additional preventive measures, if any, need to be taken to continue to protect animal and public health.” The Pennsylvania Beef Coun cil also backs USDA’s handling of the case. “Currently this is a suspected case in one animal and the USDA is aggressively investi gating this case. The Pennsylva nia Beef Council supports a full investigation and the necessary steps to eliminate this disease from North America and protect the health of U.S. cattle. Mean while, consumers should continue to eat beef with confidence,” said Paul Slayton, executive director, Pennsylvania Beef Council. “While the one case of BSE in Washington State is unfortunate, systems have been built over the past 15 years to prevent this dis ease from spreading and affec ting either animal health or pub lic health. The dairy cow in question was quickly identified and the infectious agent con tained, and the farm of origin has been identified and quarantined this proves that the system to detect and eliminate BSE is effec tive. The 2001 Harvard Universi ty Center for Risk Assessment re port concluded that ‘measures taken by the U.S. government and industry make the U.S. ro bust against the spread of BSE to animals or humans should it be introduced in this country.'” In response to the BSE finding, the Washington-based meat packing plant has implemented a recall for beef produced on Dec. 9. While USDA remains confi dent in their findings and isola tion of the disease, the fallout for exported beef began hours after confirmation. According to the Associated Press, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan took steps to sus pend imports only a few house after the U.S. government an nounced their findings. According to USDA statistics, the countries that have enacted bans on U.S. beef account for more than 60 percent of Ameri can beef exports this year. Japan is the largest overseas market for U.S. beef, with sales that totaled $842 million in 2003, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federa tion. In the U.S. beef markets, after having a strong price in the fall, are preparing for the impact BSE could have on beef prices. Live Cattle and Feeder Cattle Futures closed at a loss of $1.50 across the board at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The markets ended trading at 10:50 a.m. CST, Wednesday. The U.S. Commodi ty Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is monitoring the mar kets. James E. Newsome, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said, “We are aware of the USDA an nouncement of a presumptive positive test result for BSE in a single Holstein cow on a farm in Washington state. We have been in close touch with the USDA, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ever since that report. “Any time there is an an nouncement of this kind, it be comes a market fundamental and you expect markets to react to fundamentals. We fully support the CME’s decision to keep the live and feeder cattle markets open for business tomorrow and Friday, so that they can fully pro cess this fundamental informa tion. Should there be excess vola tility in the market, both cattle contracts have daily price limits in place to contain that vola tility. And the commission will be stepping up its surveil lance of these markets over the coming days to guard against any activity of a po tentially manipulative nature. “In addition, it should be noted that the cow involved is not of the type that is deliv erable on the CME’s live cat tle contract. The Commission and the Exchange will con tinue to work closely together to allow the markets to ab sorb this event in as orderly a fashion as possible.” &J 3 PUBLIC AUCTION ~ Private Collection ~ Approx. 600 Winross 6 Trucks & Others Sat., Jan. 17, 2004 • 9 a.m. | H iuulk 1 ML Hall :i 1 I Mmi Si I l"I ) I»\ \ppm\ h Milks I [si ill 1 MIL (1)1 Hi 2 Sale Imh : Joan Holtzapple MILLER Si SIEGRIST AUCTIONEERS (717) 687-6857 • AU-1723L www. millersiegrist. com Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 27 2008-A37 PDCA Judging School Set HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) The Pennsylvania Pure bred Dairy Cattle Association will conduct a judging school at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Saturday. Jan. 17. Participants will have the op portunity to judge many breeds of cattle during the school. Regis tration will begin at 8:30 a.m., with classes starting at 9 a.m. The PDCA approved judges list is sent to county extension of fices and is available to local fair boards for use in locating judges for their shows. Participants, by I iddrc: Phone Make checks payable and send to ** Due b> January 5, 2004 I I Weekly Meat Production Under Federal Inspection WASHINGTON. D C . Dec 19 - (USDA-NASS) - Total icd meat pio duction undci tcdeial inspection loi the week ending Satuiday, Dec 20, was estimated at 923 5 million lbs. accoulmg to the USDA's Agncultuial Maikelmg Service This w'as 3 0 peiccnt higher than a week ago and I 2 percent lower than a year ago Cumulative meat production loi the yeai to date was I 3 percent lower compared to the previous year MEAT PRODUCTION (million pounds) (excludes condemned) Calf/Veal Pork (2) 3 9 445 3 3 9 430 0 Week Ending (1) Beef 20-Dec-03 470 0 13-Dec-03 458 2 2.6% 494 4 Change 21-Dec-02 -4 9% 25.364 4 26,148 5 -3 0% Change -4 9% 3 2% 2003 YTD 179 5 19,178 2 2002 YTD 184 8 18,977 3 Change -2 9% I 1 % 1- Previous week estimates may be levtsed Yeat ago data are actuals 2- Excludes lard 3- Totals may not add due to rounding 2003 totals arc subject to icvision LIVESTOCK SLAUGHTER (head) Cattle Calves/Vealers Hogs Sheep/Lambs 634.000 20,000 2,225,000 61,000 620.000 20,000 2,147,000 62,000 2 3% 0% 3 6% -16% 650.000 22,000 2,177,000 62,000 -2 5% -9 1% 2 2%- -16% 34.022.000 949,000 96,791,000 2,770,000 34.377.000 992,000 96,598,000 3.022,000 -10% -4 3% 0 2% -8 3% AVERAGE WEIGHTS (lbs.) Cattle Calves/Vealers Hogs Sheep/Lamb 1245 322 270 140 1242 321 270 140 1265 308 268 135 Week Ending 20-Dec-03 13-Dec-03 Change 21-Dec-02 Change 2003 YTD 2002 YTD Change Week Ending LIVE 20- Estimate 13-Dec-03 Estimate 21- -02 Actual DRESSED 20- Estimate 13-Dec-03 Estimate 21- Actual PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL SLAUGHTERED BY CLASS CATTLE HOGS Wk Ending Steers Heiteis Cows Bulls/Slags Barrows/Oills Sows Boais/Stags 06- 46 6% 29 5% 217% 22% 96 7% 3 1% 02% 07- 45 8% 34 4% 18 2% 16% 96 4% 34% 03% placing well at the judging school, have the chance to get their name on the approved list. The cost for the school is $2O. This fee covers school costs. If you would like to participate in the 2004 Pennsylvania PDCA Judging School, complete the ap plication form and return it by Jan. 5 with your $2O payment. For more information, contact Ken Raney, PDCA Secretary at 839 Benner Pike, State College PA 16801 (814) 234-0364 or email at contact@paholstein s.com. , 2004 PDCA JUDGING SCHOOL PA PDCA 839 Benner Pike State College PA 16801 3 6% 431 6 745 743 764 Eastern Cornbelt Direct Sheep Weekly Summary Springfield, 111. December 19. 20(13 Report Supplied Ily USDA L astern Cornbelt Direct Sheep Weeklv Report (includes lambs sold in II .IN OH , Ml) /This report will not be issued next week in ob servance of the Christmas Holiday / Compared to last week heavy slaughter lambs were 100 4(H) lower m light market test l.ambs under 100 lbs were unevenly steady Slaughter ewes finished the week firm to 200 higher Goats were mostly steady Demand was moderate to good 1 rading activity was moderate Strong demand from the eth me trade and good demand ahead of the upcoming holiday period supported light lamb goat and ewe prices this week ( allot lamb ear eass prices ended the weak sharply higher ( onlmned sales this week about 1V( slaughter lamhs 27 r < ewes and an additional 706 head of goats lotal sheep and lambs sales 000 last week H2S and year at»o 12S0 SI AUGHT I U 1 \MBS Choice 2 1 110 MS lbs 84 00-87 00 nS-tSO lbs 80 00-84 00 Good and C hoiee M 40 SO lbs 12*00 80 S** lbs OO 98 00 SI AUGHT hR I \M S Utility and Gnml 1 * 4h 00 M 00 tew up to StOO ( ulland Llilitv I 2 *8 (HI 46 00 ( nil 1 kwMMMI IS (Mi Si Al C I IIIF K (,()\IS (e wt ) Kids Se Ice non 2 20 40 lbs KHOO 10800 40 60 1b I HI