Canadian Farmer at Centre of Mad Cow Maelstrom
Date: 14-Jan-05
Country: CANADA
Vohs and his wife Cheri stepped forward Thursday to talk about a purebred Charolais cow they raised on their central Alberta farm that was confirmed as Canada's third home-grown case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy on Tuesday.
"That's probably the most intense news I've ever got," Vohs told a news conference broadcast live on CBC television.
The cow was born in the spring of 1998, six months after a ban on cattle feed containing protein from rendered cattle and other cud-chewing animals. The ban -- which was also instituted in the United States -- was designed to prevent the spread of mad cow disease through contaminated feed.
The case has raised questions about how well the ban worked. Canadian farmers are worried those concerns could delay a US plan to allow imports of young cattle to resume on March 7.
Farmers have lost an estimated C$5 billion ($4.2 billion) because of trade bans since the country's first native case was discovered in Alberta in May 2003.
The first US case, found in December 2003, was traced to an Alberta-born cow.
Canada confirmed its second case on Jan. 2, also in Alberta, just days before Vohs's cow turned up positive in preliminary screening tests.
Vohs started his operation, called "Valley of Hope Farms," at Innisfail, Alberta, after immigrating to Canada from Germany in 1979, according to his farm's Web site.
Just after Christmas, one of his cows slipped and injured herself, Vohs told reporters. He called his veterinarian, and together they decided to euthanize her.
The cow did not show signs of mad cow disease, Vohs said, but farmers are encouraged to turn in samples from old cattle for the country's stepped-up surveillance program.
Vohs would not provide a theory for how his cow got the disease, but told reporters he bought a calf starter feed from a local supplier in the spring of 1998.
"I bought that feed in good faith," he said, explaining he usually feeds his cattle home-grown hay and grain.
"It's just something I tried in '98, perhaps looking for some better performance in the calves."
He said his herd had 104 calves that year, 70 of which were sold to feedlots, and 34 that became breeding cows and bulls.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Wednesday it had quarantined 22 cows on the farm that inspectors plan to kill and test for the disease.
Vohs said he sold his bulls to local farms and did not export them. His customers have been understanding, he said, but he worries about his farm's future.
"The thought is, who is going buy bulls from me?" he said. "Even though I don't think I did anything wrong. I haven't been accused of anything, either."
Farm group representatives stood beside Vohs Thursday, calling him a model farmer.
"Will is a fine producer and I think he represents our industry very well," said Darcy Davis, chairman of Alberta Beef Producers.
The CFIA's head veterinarian for Western Canada praised the family's record-keeping and co-operation.
But George Luterbach declined to speculate how Vohs's cow got the disease.
"Our feed investigation is still ongoing and, as such, I think it would inappropriate and perhaps unprofessional to speculate on what our findings will find," Luterbach said.
($1 US = $1.20 Canadian)