We
would
like
to thank everyone who shared their stories with us.
Alex
Baum
reads
a
letter
of
support
from
someone
directly
affected
by
the
BSE
crisis to the crowd at the Concert in the Meadows.
Alex and Dan Announce at the second annual Beef Eating contest in Cochrane that the Petition will be taken to Ottawa.
PLEASE NOTE: Dan Kroffat and Alex Baum had a successful trip to Ottawa. They presented over 114,000 signatures to Myron Thompson, MP and other officials on October 14, 2004.
Many came to Celebrate
and
Support
Alberta
Beef
at
the
2nd
Annual
Beef
Eating
Contest
in
Cochrane,
Alberta...in
the
Heart
of
Ranch
Country!
Dan
Kroffat,
captured
on
the
Concert
in
the
Meadows
Big
Screen,
urges
for
support
around
finding
a
solution
to
the
BSE
crisis.
Open the Border Celebration September 5th 2005
Premier Ralph Klein will be celebrating in Cochrane this Sept. 5th
Come celebrate with us on Labor Day in Cochrane!
September 5th at Noon in Cochrane we are having an "Open the Border National Celebration" at Cochrane Dodge.
Premier Ralph Klein will join us in celebrating
with the community and honored guests. This is truly an Occasion to Celebrate!
Excerpt from Cochrane Eagle Article Klein to join, Aug. 3, 2005 -
By Shawn Logan
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein will headline a celebration planned in Cochrane on Labour Day to mark last month’s opening of the United States border to live Canadian beef exports.
Cochrane Dodge owner Alex Baum said his annual Labour Day (Sept. 5) beef eating contest will take on extra meaning this year as it will toast the opening of the border that had been closed to Canadian beef since May 2003 after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was discovered in an Alberta cow.
“Everything is lining up for this to be a great celebration,” Baum said. “We have confirmation the premier is going to join. This is a big thing for him.”
ALEX BAUM AND DAN KROFFAT TOOK OVER
114,000
signatures
from
our
online
and
hard
copy
forms to Ottawa to present to members of Parliament, October 14th, 2004.
The final tally for the petition rests at over 150,000!
Dan Kroffat(left), Conservative Wild Rose MP Myron Thompson(center) and Alex Baum(right) in Ottawa. Baum and Kroffat met with Thompson and Nova Scotia Senator Terry Mercer, who accepted the petition on behalf of the Senate.
This
website
petition
was
part
of
a
"grass
roots"
initiative
started
in
Cochrane,
Alberta
to
raise
awareness
over
the
plight
of
Beef
Ranchers
across
Canada. Please read below for links regarding the Ottawa presentation of the petition by Dan Kroffat and Alex Baum.
Canadians
for
the
most
part
feel
helpless
in
the
plight
of
our
Cattle
Ranchers
and
this
will
be
one
way
that
we
can
say
"We
Care"
We
are
too
late
for
some
Ranchers
because
some
have
lost
everything
but
maybe
we
can
make
a
difference
for
the
existing
Ranching
Community.
Ranching
is
one
of
the
oldest
industries
in
Canada
and
we
are
losing
an
industry
that
we
own!
Tom Jackson speaks at the Concert in the Meadows.
Cochrane Times,
August 03, 2005:
The party is back on at Cochrane Dodge for Sept. 5 -- Labour Day Monday, with Baum and former pro wrestler Dan Kroffat, co-founders of the wildly successful opentheborder.com petition, organizing the big bash.
In March, with the injunction awarded to R-CALF and Canadian ranchers once again hoofed out of the U.S. marketplace, a disappointed Baum cancelled the celebration, saying, “We want to celebrate when we have cause to celebrate.”
Well, the cause has finally arrived, with a U.S. federal appeals court sending the R-CALF injunction out to pasture and Canadian cattle once again stampeding south of the border.
Baum said invitations have been extended to both Premier Ralph Klein and Prime Minister Paul Martin for the delayed celebration.
“We want to have Ralph here to celebrate with us,” he said.
