01/11/05 Reaching a decision; Voicing opinion

01/11/05 Reaching a decision; Voicing opinion

One of the major cattle industry groups waited on a formal announcement whether or not it supported U.S.D.A..'s recent decision to allow Canadian live cattle and some beef products back into our market. But the National Cattlemen's Beef Association has said publicly it does not support the government's final rule to reopen the border. C.E.O. Terry Stokes says his organization based its decision on three conditions. Those are the needed resumption of more markets to U.S. beef reopening, the continuing investigation into Canada's most recent case of b.s.e. announced last week, and Canadian newspaper reports that enforcement of that nation's ruminant to ruminant feed ban has been lax. Some of that may also been based on a Canadian Food Inspection Agency report this weekend that at least 141 of the infected Canadian cow's herdmates came to the U.S., with at least one of those animals sent for slaughter The latest twist and turns of the Washington Governors election soap opera will be played today in the State Legislature, one day before Christine Gregoire is expected to be sworn in into office. Today, the House and Senate hold a joint session to debate whether to award Gregoire an official certificate of election making the Gregoire win legal. That is expected to be just that & debate&as the Democrats, Gregoire's party, hold control of both chambers. The real battle is expected to take place in the courts. Republican Dino Rossi and his party await word on their filing in Chelan County challenging the results of the election and calling for a statewide revote. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. ALLEN:
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