Editor’s Note: Max Thornsberry and Doug Zalesky were two of four task force members dispatched by R-CALF USA to Central America to research the impact of, and analyze support for, the Central American Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) treaty. Other members of the task force were Joel Gill, Mississippi and Dennis McDonald, chair of R-CALF USA’s Trade Committee and president of Montana Cattlemen’s Association. The task force arrived in Costa Rica on June 24, and also visited Nicaragua and Honduras during the eight day tour.

The task force was charged with four primary goals: 1) obtain what level of support exists for CAFTA-DR amongst the populace and grassroots producers of Central America; 2) research true production numbers for agricultural products in those nations, with a special emphasis on beef production; 3) discover the actual potential for expansion in beef production; and 4) gain overall insight into food safety conditions in processing plants.

Thornsberry is a practicing veterinarian in Missouri and is past-president of Missouri Stockgrower’s Association and Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. He serves as the Region VI Director for R-CALF USA.

Zalesky in a bovine research scientist with Colorado State University, managing the San Juan Basin Research Center in southwestern Colorado. He is a cattle producer and was recently elected president of Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association.

As we progressed through our tour of Central American nations, it became increasingly clear that the misinformation being floated by proponents of CAFTA-DR is disingenuous at best. One only need witness the extreme poverty, the cheap labor and production costs, the capacity for agricultural expansion and the fear of cultural disruption by American corporate interests in these nations to understand that CAFTA-DR is a bad deal.

The level of poverty in the Central American nations visited by the task force is heartbreaking. The labor force earns an average of $2 in Honduras to $6 or $8 per day in Costa Rica. There is a gross lack of labor, health and environmental standards in these nations. Many times we witnessed waterways littered with waste and debris, often with
citizens washing clothing or bathing in the same waterways. Most families live in very small huts, with no running water and no refrigeration.

The coastal plains of Central America contain deep levels of rich volcanic soil that are extremely fertile without additional application of traditional fertilizers needed to enhance production. Lush forages contain anywhere from 12% to 22% crude protein content, depending on the elevation.

At higher elevations where temperatures are cooler and the protein content of grass is higher, we found a concentration of the dairy industry. At lower elevations beef cattle are produced.

In many places hay is harvested every month, twelve months of the year. The majority of the hay is fed fresh to livestock, not dried and baled as we’re accustomed to in America. We saw very little mechanized haying machinery. Most of the hay is harvested by laborers with machetes. In terms of cattle production, forage input costs are a fraction of those encountered by U.S. cattlemen.

The climate is static, with little fluctuation in temperatures between seasons, providing a low stress environment for cattle.

Central American cattlemen, particularly in Costa Rica, have made significant improvements in cattle genetics, with a special emphasis on carcass quality, through the importing of semen and embryos from the U.S. Artificial insemination is widely used. The cost of
breeding heifers equals or exceeds the cost of breeding bulls, a clear signal that herd expansion is underway. Frame scores result in mostly Yield Grade Two’s that can compete on par with U.S. fed cattle. It would be a grave mistake to discount Central American cattle
as poor quality with carcasses that cannot compete with U.S. beef.

Costs of vaccines and antibiotics are a fraction of those incurred by U.S. producers. For example, Ivomec and Dectomax sell in Costa Rica for sixty cents per dose compared to $1.68 per dose in the U.S. Animal health products not permitted for use in U.S. cattle are routinely used in Central America. An antibiotic called Ditrim is forbidden for use in food animals in the U.S., but is commonly used in Costa Rica. Lepto vaccinations are
supplied by the Costa Rican government and other vaccines like anthrax, blackleg and
pasturella are available at one-third the costs of similar products in the U.S.

Central American nations have strict country of origin labeling laws. While USDA has worked hard to prevent American consumers from having origin labeling information, Central America does so very effectively and with little cost.

Surprisingly, we discovered that U.S. beef, poultry, deli meats, some frozen products and seafood are banned in Costa Rica.

The finishing ration for cattle used in Central America consists of a mixture of poultry litter, rice hulls, molasses, corn and a mineral supplement. Cost of production in Central America averages 25 cents to 30 cents per pound. "In the meat" prices are $1.50 per pound. The price differential between Central American beef and U.S. beef will not make U.S. beef affordable for Central American consumers. The culture in Central America prefers the taste of grass-fed beef, because that is what they are accustomed to, rather than the grain-fed, marbled beef produced here in America.

It is very troubling that in Central American nations poultry litter containing mammalian meat and bone meal is universally fed to beef cattle of every age and class. Statistics show that 3 - 5% of poultry feed is wasted in the litter which is an obvious avenue to re-circulate the prion agent that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

It is true that in the U.S. poultry litter has not yet been banned from beef cattle rations, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued recommendations that poultry litter not be fed to animals destined for human consumption, and we are slowly but surely moving away from this practice.

The capacity for cattle herd expansion throughout Central American nations is virtually limitless. Cheap production costs, cheap labor and a nearly perfect climate supported by CAFTA-DR’s guaranteed free and unfettered access to U.S. markets makes this expansion virtually certain.

Nicaraguan officials informed us that certain Texas-based interests have already visited that nation negotiating possible expansion of cattle feeding and meat
processing operations. This approach is one that would resurrect, on a much grander scale, the plantation farms of the Civil War era in America. Producing grain for the feed, the feed mills, cattle feeding, slaughter, processing, packaging and international marketing are the all-encompassing "services" corporate agri-businesses are offering the governments of third world nations like those in Central America. Their promises of employing the work force in these countries are nothing more than perpetuation of labor exploitation where laws do not exist to prevent worker abuse or support fair compensation and worker benefits. CAFTA-DR will globalize serfdom.

The chief cattle procurement officer for one of Costa Rica’s three largest meat packing plants predicted for us that if CAFTA-DR is ratified, the Costa Rican cattle herd will, at a minimum, double in the next five years from 1.9 million head to 4 million head, with much greater expansion possible.

The American textile industry is already moving into Central American nations like Honduras, where the cheap labor force is being exploited by U.S. interests. Young Honduran females are working in these clothing factories for pennies per hour, which is displacing the male workforce. Alcoholism and suicide rates are rising dramatically. Because no child care is offered to female workers, children are left at risk. There is a growing fear among the Central American culture that their way of life is threatened by the advent of free trade agreements and the ensuing exploitation of the labor force.

Meat packing plants approved for export to the U.S. are typically inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture once a year. While the conditions in these packing plants were sub-standard, they were far better than domestic plants not approved for export.
Currently, large quantities of beef from Venezuela, Colombia and Uruguay are being shipped to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Beef from these South American countries is banned in the U.S. because of Foot and Mouth Disease. Under CAFTA-DR there is no prohibition preventing the trans-shipment of cattle or beef between nations and arriving into the U.S. where, under CAFTA-DR, it would be sold to unwitting consumers if mandatory country of origin labeling is not implemented in America.

The political climate in Central America remains unstable. In Nicaragua particularly, ratification of CAFTA-DR may be improbable. It is common to be met by armed guards in flack jackets, armed with assault weapons at many restaurants. We were met by the same at many ranch entrances. Because of the political instability, many hotels do not offer marked transportation to and from airports due to gang warfare and the trend towards criminal activity, targeted especially at U.S. citizens. It is difficult to imagine any increase in demand for U.S. beef by the tourism industry in these nations. The tourism industry in Central America is largely limited to coastlines. DZ/MT