Bob Moore, president of Prime Tanning, had his moment of public fame when US Senator Susan Collins visited the tannery. Moore is attempting to get the US Senate to require the military to use American-made components such as the leather in army boots. Collins says she has already been involved in discussions over a provision to require all military goods to be made from American products which is before the Senate Armed Forces Committee, on which she serves. Meanwhile Prime are lobbying for legislation, such as the Berry Amendment, which requires the Defence Department to buy equipment made with 100% US products and labour. According to the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, an industry lobbying group, the Berry Amendment is already law but the Defence Department can issue waivers for a number of reasons. Despite entering a traditionally slow period for tanners, US hide prices rose while tanners, complaining that there was no profit to be made and, indeed, predicting losses, purchased only what they absolutely had to. So not much trade took place. The results of tests undertaken in the UK on brain tissue from a US cow possibly infected with BSE, proved to be positive. This is the first time an American born cow has been found to be suffering from the disease. Taiwan immediately reimposed its ban on US beef while Japan and Korea continue to reconsider their current embargoes. Research published by Cattle Buyers Weekly concludes that US commercial cow slaughter last year was the lowest in at least 45 years and nearly 16% less than 2003. The decline is said to reflect tight beef and dairy cull figures and the lack of Canadian cows. CBW say that the US imported an average of 319,000 cows and bulls from Canada for slaughter in the period 2000-2002. While US cow slaughter is expected to rise overall this year, up till now it is down 6.5%. Dairy slaughter is down 5% and beef cow slaughter is down 7.7%. Packerland Packing have announced that they are to close their plant in Gering, Nebraska, because, since the US ban on the import of Canadian animals and the reduced level of available western livestock, they have been unable to sustain profitable production levels. The plant was processing around 320 cattle/day. Conversely, Canadian federally inspected slaughter to the end of May was up 6% compared with a year earlier and up 23% compared with the same period in 2003. The US cattle herd peaked in 1996 at 103.5 million with 95.8 million head being recorded as of January 1 this year with an increase expected as some ranchers plan to expand their herds for the first time in five years. US federally inspected slaughter for the week ending June 18 was estimated at 665,000, which compares with the holiday total of 656,000 the week before and 660,000 in the same week last year. The average weekly kill over the four-week period was 637,250 compared with 654,500 in 2004. Exports of raw hides in the four-week period to June 9 had China in first place with 468,000, followed by Korea with 370,300 and Taiwan with 182,900. Mexico, Hong Kong and Japan took the next three places. Italy took 29,200 calf and kip, with Peru, Japan, France, Hong Kong and Türkiye taking lesser amounts. China took 37,100 wet-blues and Hong Kong 19,900. Other buyers were Italy, Korea, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Thailand.
