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South Dakota Farmers Union opposes importing Brazilian beef

The South Dakota Farmers Union says it’s a bad idea to import cattle from 14 Brazilian states that have a history of foot and mouth disease. The last case of foot and mouth in any of the 14 states in the USDA proposal was in 2001, but South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke takes little comfort in that.

“How do you know that those animals all come from that area,” Sombke told Brownfield Ag News on Wednesday, “they may be shipped from foot and mouth disease clean, free area, but that’s not to say that they aren’t brought in from another part of Brazil that has the problem.”

U.S. producers are held to a high standard for livestock health and Brazilian cattlemen should be too,” said Sombke.

Importing beef from countries with a history of foot and mouth disease could erode U.S. consumer confidence in beef, said Sombke.

The farm organization submitted comments discouraging the USDA from allowing the importation of beef from those states in Brazil. The USDA comment period ended on Tuesday.

AUDIO: Doug Sombke (2 min. MP3)