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Out of controlRanchers are used to not being in control of certain elements of their business. It either rains or it doesn't. Sometimes they find musk thistle growing, through no fault of their own. Fences sometimes get knocked down by deer. Add to that list the debacle that is now the beef export market. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy found its way to this country, but thanks to a preemptive feed ban years earlier, it was on a very limited scale. No matter to those other countries, however. They slammed the trade door and we've been working since that day, over three years ago, to open it back up. It doesn't matter what science says. It doesn't matter that the World Organization for Animal Health classifies the United States as a controlled risk country. They have made it a slow, slow road back to exporting those beef producers' product and in turn boosting beef prices. And to complicate things, some markets have been reopened in name only. United States representatives have negotiated and cajoled their way into those markets, giving up way more than we should just to have the chance to get our foot in the door. As a result, U.S. beef has been marked "Return to Sender" as soon as it hits the shores because of zero tolerance and a bone fragment the size of a pencil eraser. All of these things are out of a beef producer's hands. And its obvious that cattlemen can't control domestic exporters either. If they could, they most certainly would not have shipped a box of chuck short ribs to a country that is only accepting boneless beef. Granted, exporting is a complicated business. But it seems that beef producers should at least be offered USDA inspectors that can read a box that says "For Domestic Use Only" and deny permission to ship it to another country. For the sake of beef producers, let's hope that these export issues can be cleared up, and quick. It's enough to have to deal with issues they are used to having no control over, they don't need a mess of an export market affecting their profits as well. Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com. 6/11/07
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