With two cases of mad cow in Canada in the last month and the U.S. ready to open the border, see what’s on the minds of producers, packers, consumers and livestock haulers at Damascus Livestock Auction.
PRIVATE SALES: We sell most of our cattle privately so I don’t know if this affects us much. It shouldn’t because most of our customers are repeat buyers. That’s the nice thing about selling privately.
Josh Salaski
cattle producer, Alliance, Ohio
EXCEPTIONAL: Yes, they should open the border. With the strong Department of Agriculture efforts, we will never have the problem in this country that was in Europe. The USDA is doing an exceptional job, bending over backward to keep mad cow from coming in our country.
Mark Kalin
sheep and swine manager, Damascus Livestock Auction
DO NOT WORRY: Only meat 30 months and younger is allowed across so we absolutely should not be worried about opening the border and BSE.
Merlin Garver
livestock dealer, Wooster, Ohio
RARE: I’m not worrying about mad cow now. It’s such a rare thing. But if it gets too popular up there, we’ll hear more about it down here. And if cases keep growing, we’ll hear more about animal ID.
Regis Lutz,
cattle producer, Warren, Ohio
