February 8, 2007

"Last night, Canada announced a detection of BSE in a mature bull from Alberta, Canada. I have visited with Canada's Minister of Agriculture, Chuck Strahl, who welcomes our participation in the investigation. I am dispatching a USDA expert to Canada for that purpose.

Based on what is known at this time, I would not expect this Canadian detection to impact our trade with Canada. Regarding the proposed minimal risk rule that specifies additional movement of cattle and beef into the United States, we remain in an open comment period until March 12, 2007. While the risk assessment for the proposed rule factors in the possibility of additional cases, the open comment period allows for consideration of additional information that might result from this investigation."