Both state and national cattle groups have raised concerns over the USDA proposal to allow fresh or frozen beef from Argentina into the United States. APHIS contends that beef from both Brazil and Argentina is safe and that cattle groups should not be concerned about the history of FMD- foot and mouth disease- in both countries. Pictured here is one of the largest cattle markets in the world- the Leniers market in Buenos Aires- where cattle move in and out of northern Argentina from all over that country.
One of the groups very worried about beef coming in from South America is the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. NCBA's Kristina Butts is the guest of Farm Director Ron Hays on the Friday Beef Buzz- and urges cattle producers to weigh in on this issue with USDA before the deadline for public comment, which is Monday, December 29, 2014.
NCBA says on their policy page on their website that "NCBA supports free trade practices that are based on internationally established rules and sound scientific principles and NCBA cannot support any action that would jeopardize the continued good health and well-being of the United States cattle herd. Argentina has experienced a long history of repeated FMD outbreaks and displayed a serious problem in the past with concealing an FMD outbreak in 2000-2001 from international trading partners.
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