The importance of bio-security may often be overlooked in cattle operations, but recent trade negotiations should have producers questioning their preparedness.  A long standing trade dispute between Brazil and the U.S. over U.S. cotton subsidies was resolved prior to Brazil placing a number of trade sanctions on U.S. goods valued at $830 million.  Buried in an USDA press release and New York Times article was a statement the U.S. will publish a proposed rule by today that would allow fresh beef imports from the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. 

While this part of the announcement may seem trivial, Santa Catarina is the only state in Brazil that is free of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).  FMD is a virus that can be transmitted from animals to animals, from people to animals, and can be transmitted by fresh and frozen meat products.  Humans are not affected by FMD.  It is believed that the outbreak of FMD that occurred in England during 2001 originated from meat products that contained the virus.

The idea of trade occurring with a single area of a foreign country (referred to as regionalization) is not new as previous outbreaks of avian influenza in the U.S. has resulted in areas affected by the outbreak not being able to export poultry products during a specified period of time.  This has limited the economic impact of the disease which would not be the case in the event of an outbreak of FMD as there is not a national monitoring or trace back system in place that would limit losses and keep vital export markets open which have been supportive of cattle prices during the current recession.

Opening of trade with Santa Catarina does not mean that an FMD outbreak is imminent in the U.S., but it does provide another possible entry point for FMD to enter the country as no meat inspection process is foolproof.  Cattle producers can learn from bio-security efforts of poultry producers who monitor persons that are on the farm and vehicles that have access to the farm.  Simple bio-security steps such as these are more of a time commitment than cash costs.  Ensuring future returns by assessing bio-security protocols and putting them in place is worth the investment.