What did Johanns say at the USMEF Board of Directors meeting?
Is having a native-borne son running the USDA - meaning the offspring of an Iowa dairyman and the ex-governer of Nebraska - a good thing for the cattle business? Stripping away the usual government head-nodding from his USMEF Board of Directors speech this morning, the answer has to be yes.
As a gauge of his popularity, he received a standing ovation before he spoke. More importantly, he even enjoyed a standing ovation when he wrapped up his speech with this pointed statement: "Nothing good comes to agriculture from stifling trade," a comment that underlined his single-minded drive to reopen the Canadian border as soon as possible.
"I'm doing my dream job," is always a good way to lead off a speech, especially is you can back up that statement with real content. Continuing with "I will not rest until Japan opens it borders to American Beef products" delivered the content.
He came down strongly behind opening all borders to free agricultural trade, stating that our approach to Canada can be no different than our approach to Japan. If we expect the Japanese to accept our beef and our systems of insuring safety, then we must accept the Canadian assurances. "The fact is, Canadian beef is safe," he said.
"The North American trade issue is more than a two-way street, it's a super highway," he continued.
Expressing concern about the long-term effects of the ban on Canadian cattle, he said as long as the border is closed, our U.S. beef industry will suffer. In Utah, cattle processing has dropped by 20% and people are losing jobs.
Johanns also backed CAFTA with a simple argument: the region is an expanding marketplace with 44 million potential customers. "About 99% of their products imported into the U.S. are duty free and we don't currently enjoy the same access to their markets," he said. "We must have a level playing field. CAFTA will help solve that problem."
Alan Smith, USMEF chair, made an obvious comment as Johanns left the stage. "The Secretary is fully engaged in U.S. agriculture," he said.
As a gauge of his popularity, he received a standing ovation before he spoke. More importantly, he even enjoyed a standing ovation when he wrapped up his speech with this pointed statement: "Nothing good comes to agriculture from stifling trade," a comment that underlined his single-minded drive to reopen the Canadian border as soon as possible.
"I'm doing my dream job," is always a good way to lead off a speech, especially is you can back up that statement with real content. Continuing with "I will not rest until Japan opens it borders to American Beef products" delivered the content.
He came down strongly behind opening all borders to free agricultural trade, stating that our approach to Canada can be no different than our approach to Japan. If we expect the Japanese to accept our beef and our systems of insuring safety, then we must accept the Canadian assurances. "The fact is, Canadian beef is safe," he said.
"The North American trade issue is more than a two-way street, it's a super highway," he continued.
Expressing concern about the long-term effects of the ban on Canadian cattle, he said as long as the border is closed, our U.S. beef industry will suffer. In Utah, cattle processing has dropped by 20% and people are losing jobs.
Johanns also backed CAFTA with a simple argument: the region is an expanding marketplace with 44 million potential customers. "About 99% of their products imported into the U.S. are duty free and we don't currently enjoy the same access to their markets," he said. "We must have a level playing field. CAFTA will help solve that problem."
Alan Smith, USMEF chair, made an obvious comment as Johanns left the stage. "The Secretary is fully engaged in U.S. agriculture," he said.
posted by Chuck Jolley at Thursday, May 26, 2005
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