Canada's Application For Negligible Risk Status For BSE Passes Important Milestone

On Friday, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced that Canada is an important step closer to being recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as a negligible-risk country for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

 

"Today, beef producers can be pleased that Canada has taken an important step to being recognized as negligible risk for BSE," said Bibeau. "Although we still need to await the final vote, I am optimistic that this will soon allow them to expand their markets for cattle and beef exports to the U.S. and other foreign markets. Our government will continue to stand up for our hard-working beef producers who provide top-quality products."

 

The Scientific Commission of the OIE has recommended to OIE delegates that Canada's application to change its status from a controlled-risk country for BSE to one of negligible risk fulfills the necessary requirements.

 

This recommendation has been sent to OIE Delegates who will officially vote on Canada's application at the next World Assembly of OIE Delegates General Session at the end of May 2021.

 

A change from controlled to negligible BSE-risk status would help secure and negotiate access for Canadian cattle and beef products to trade markets that require products to originate from negligible BSE-risk status countries.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.