Mad Cow Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Mad Cow Blog

Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, has often made life difficult for the government in London. He is doing so again by supporting Christine Lord, the mother seeking answers from the government about her son Andy's death from Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob (vCJD).

The Sinn Fein leader has given his full support to Lord, who was today set to embark on a three-day visit to the Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont. Her son Andy Black died six months after being diagnosed with Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in December 2007.

Gerry Adams wrote Lord saying: 'I cannot imagine how hurt you are at the unnecessary death of your child. I admire your efforts to find the truth about vCJD and I assure you that I and my party support your efforts.'

We covered Lord's demands last month and you can go back and check that out here.

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Beef may be what's for dinner, but cattlemen say the economics of their business just don't pencil out anymore. They say that's why the cattle population in the U.S. has dipped to 42 million, and the number of new calves has not been so low since 1951. Corn prices pushed up by ethanol makers and more land being used to grow grains have all helped cut the cattle population.

Come April 27th, cattlemen (and women) will have a new regulation to contend with--a new rendering regulation that goes into affect that could affect their ability to dispose of dead cattle.

The new regulations bans the use of these carcasses in livestock feed if the cattle are over 30 months of age. This federal regulation is intended to prevent the spread of BSE or mad cow disease and will likely result in increased disposal costs for livestock producers.

Throughout cattle country, there is a concern that the regulation will cause some with a carcass to dispose of to just "dump and drive."

Cattle states are trying to handle the new realty on their own.  For example:

Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Livestock Development Supervisor Curt Zimmerman says the feed ban regulation has presented challenges to the cattle industry.

"We asked producers, rendering companies, livestock organizations and state livestock experts to consider the impact of this ban and what disposal options would be available to beef and dairy farmers," said Zimmerman. "On-farm pick-up will remain an option for producers, and we're examining other disposal methods, such as composting and burial that may work for some producers."

While most rendering services in Minnesota have indicated they will continue farm pick-up of dead cattle, producers will be responsible for providing documentation proving the age of the cattle. If verification cannot be provided, the cattle will be considered to be over 30 months of age and producers will be charged accordingly by the rendering service. Producers are encouraged to discuss with their local feedlot experts and extension educators what options are best suited to their operation.

For more, go here.

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 Canada continues to make Mad Cow news.

The 15^th case of Mad Cow disease was discovered in Canada, in the form of a seven year old dairy cow that was determined be suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Canadian agricultural and health officials were quick to point out that no part of the ill cow entered the human food or animal feed systems.  The animal was from an un-named  farm in British Columbia.

On Friday, Canada had better news when its  researchers  developed a blood test that could make it possible to detect mad cow disease in animals months before they exhibit symptoms of the illness.

Currently, the disease can only be diagnosed by testing the brains of dead animals. The development of a blood test would make the process much cheaper, simpler and reliable.

The new blood test won't be available for regular use for at least four years. Canada is working with Germany on the project.

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