'Downer' cow ban nonfactor in Utah

Logan, Utah — A ban on "downer" cows at slaughterhouses won't have much of an impact on cattle prices, Utah producers say.

"There aren't a lot of those cattle," said Lane Parker, manager of Smithfield's livestock auction, who said Western beef prices haven't taken a major tumble from the first U.S. report of mad cow disease in Washington state.

"Right now the markets that have operated in California, Oklahoma and Texas since the BSE thing came out are off maybe 10 cents a pound which is pretty minimal," he said.

The United States Department of Agriculture announced last week it would ban the meat from cows that can't walk or stand on their own at the time of processing — about three percent of all beef cattle. The rule came after the discovery of a dairy cow from Washington that tested positive for mad cow disease.

Mad cow disease, known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, attacks brain and spinal cord tissue.

The federal government also plans to require more stringent testing on cows older than 30 months that are at a high risk for mad cow disease. Meat from those animals will not be processed until the results are known.

"In my opinion that's a lot of wasted time and effort because we already watch them pretty close," Parker said.

Smithfield livestock auction will have its first beef cattle sale next week. Parker said he doesn't expect to see much of a dip in prices.

"The way things are looking right now it actually looks like we're going to have a pretty stable market within a week," Parker said.

The USDA also wants to speed up the creation of a nationwide database that would make it easier to track the origin of animals. Cows can be given an eartag that contains a microchip inside that is read with a scanner. The chip includes the history and origin of the animal.

Parker said he expects that practice to become more widespread in the coming years.

"I personally have electronically ID-ed my cattle," Parker said. "I did it two years ago. Most people that are progressive at all have already been looking at it."

Parker said implants cost about $5 now, but should drop to $2 to $3 a head soon.