Livestock producers across the U.S. tremble when the name of a certain animal disease is mentioned. They know there has not been a case of the disease, or even a suspicion of one, since 1929. But they know the disease is endemic in other countries and continents and could enter the U.S. They also are well aware of the colossal financial consequences of that occurring.
I am referring, of course, to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). It is the one topic that keeps livestock industry leaders awake at night. This is why many industry groups over the years have urged preventive action on various fronts and warned of the economic impact of an FMD case.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), in 2017, joined with more than 100 other agricultural groups and industry leaders in calling for Congress to establish and fully fund a robust FMD vaccine bank as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. An outbreak of FMD would have a devastating effect on all of agriculture, not just livestock producers, and would have long-lasting ramifications for the viability of U.S. agriculture, the maintenance of food security in the nation and overall national security, said a letter sent to members of Congress.
An outbreak of FMD would immediately close all export markets, the letter said. The cumulative impact of an outbreak on the beef and pork sectors over a 10-year period would be more than $128 billion. The annual jobs impact of such a reduction in industry revenue is more than 58,000 in direct employment and nearly 154,000 in total employment, it said. These numbers are now six years old, and the dollar losses might now be double the 2017 estimates. USDA, in a 2020 report, said an FMD outbreak in the U.S. today could cost from $2 billion to greater than $200 billion, depending upon its mode of introduction and extent.
The 2018 Farm Bill established a three-pronged program to support animal disease prevention and management. One of the components was the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (National Bank). Having a U.S.-only vaccine bank is a concept that USDA officials had long discussed with stakeholders and industry, and it makes a much larger number of vaccine doses available to the U.S than was possible through the North American Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank, said the 2020 USDA report. In July 2020, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a $27.1 million initial purchase of FMD vaccines for the National Bank. This was the first step toward the goal of acquiring 10-25 million doses of each of the 10-12 highest-risk strains of FMD for the bank.
Just last month, APHIS announced it was awarding NCBA with $445,396 in funding to advance the Secure Beef Supply Plan (SBS) in the event of an FMD outbreak in the U.S. In response, NCBA said it thanked USDA for awarding this critical funding to help continue defending the U.S. cattle herd from the threat of FMD.
The SBS Plan, combined with USDA’s national vaccine bank, provides a strong safety net for cattle producers and multiple tools to mitigate risk from a potential outbreak, said Allison Rivera, NCBA executive director of government affairs. The funding was made available through the 2018 Farm Bill, showing why continued support and further funding for animal disease preparation measures like the SBS Plan and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasure Bank are so important as Congress works on the 2023 Farm Bill, she said.
Ironically, NCBA is now battling APHIS over its proposed rule to allow fresh beef from Paraguay to enter the U.S. NCBA remains opposed to that occurring because of the threat of FMD and has called on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to continue blocking Paraguay exports to the U.S., it said the week before last. USDA’s proposed rule is based on 9-year-old data and site visits that occurred in 2008 and 2014, said NCBA.
Paraguay has a history of outbreaks of FMD and the U.S. cannot jeopardize the safety of its consumers and the health of its cattle herd with outdated information, said NCBA’s Kent Bacus. USDA should not proceed with this application until a thorough review can be conducted with current information that demonstrates Paraguay’s equivalence in animal health and food safety standards, he said.
APHIS published its proposed rule in the Federal Register, so it will be interesting to see the level of support or opposition to its proposal. USDA says Paraguay is expected to export between 3,250 and 6,500 metric tons of beef to the U. S. in the first year, which is about 0.05% of U.S. average annual imports of fresh beef. Whether the U.S. is prepared to risk FMD entering the country for such a tiny amount of beef is surely one question to be addressed. — Steve Kay
(Steve Kay is editor/publisher of Cattle Buyers Weekly, an industry newsletter published at P.O. Box 2533, Petaluma, CA, 94953; 707-765-1725. Kay’s Korner appears exclusively in WLJ.)
