The Rural Voice, 2006-05, Page 28Collateral damage
When people think of BSE theg think beef, but
while the U.S. border is open for Canadian market
cattle, dairg producers are still suffering losses
for breeding stock sales
Story and photo by Bonnie Gropp
Fred Armstrong of Auburn
considers himself lucky. "I
always wanted 'to farm. This is
what I, love, what I love to do."
But recent years for the 63 -year-old
dairy producer, who had hoped one
day to perhaps hand the farm down
to a sixth generation, have had him
wondering occasionally whether it's
worth it.
When the BSE crisis hit in 2003
the obvious impact it had on the beef
industry, meant the harmful effect on
other sectors were often not
considered the way they might have
been. Armstrong, who started
24 THE RURAL VOICE
farming right out of school, runs a
Jersey and cash crop operation.
While he has 70 milking cows, a
significant portion of his business
was in the sale of breeding stock to
the United States. When the border
closed, it essentially shut him, and
others like him, down. "My sales on
breeding stock dropped $100,000
that year."
That's a loss on animals that he had
fed and housed making the total even
greater. And Armstrong was in a
better position than some of his
counterparts. "The milk cheque
definitely helped carry us through,
As a top Jersey breeder, Fred
Armstrong has paid a heavy price
for the border closure.
helping to pay the mortgage, repairs,
tax'es, things like that. At that time,
however, I did have to re -finance
some things and sell off some equity
to keep going."
It was a reality of the crisis that
took some time for the public to
discover. Yet its effects were
crippling. "People didn't make the
connection at the time. Yet, those
folks who focussed just on selling
breeding stock, it hit them as hard as
anybody. That was their livelihood
and it just stopped."
The United States is the biggest
market for Canadian dairy animals.
"They have herds in the thousands.
We're small operators compared to
them."
The attraction for Canadian
livestock is that according to
Armstrong they are the best in the
world. "Canadian cattle seem to have
the best genetics whether it's beef.
hogs, anything. We have done an