'What a way to put Mabton on the map'

By Ray Rivera and Jonathan Martin
Seattle Times staff reporters

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Sid Leyendekker, owner of Hidden Valley Dairy, takes down the sign to his ranch outside Mabton after a television station erroneously identified it as the source of the diseased cow. The cow reportedly came from the Sunny Dene Ranch.
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The ranch owner, veterinarian Bill Wavrin, warily answered his door to a line of reporters yesterday, politely declining comment. But sources confirmed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had gathered Wavrin's records regarding the cow and had restricted cattle from being moved from the ranch.

Charlie Powell, a spokesman with the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, said he spoke to Wavrin yesterday morning about the case and the devastating impact it could have on his ranch and the nation's beef industry.

"I was very impressed with his calm demeanor," Powell said. "He was obviously thinking about this as both a veterinarian and a businessman."

Brain and spinal-cord tissue from the cow, which was between 4 and 4-1/2 years old, was sent to England for further analysis after initial tests showed the animal had contracted the deadly degenerative brain illness. (England gained expertise in testing for the disease during an outbreak there that started in 1986.)

If the test results are confirmed, the impact on the U.S. beef industry could be staggering. The effect on the ranch would almost certainly be ruinous.

According to state emergency protocols, if the cow is determined to have the disease, all cattle on the ranch would likely be killed and their brain tissue tested. Powell said some 4,000 head of cattle at two sites could be affected.

For now, mostly questions

The ranch was started in 1989 and has 18 employees, according to Dun and Bradstreet, a market-research firm. It did $3 million in sales last year, the report said.

Mabton residents worry that the impacts could ripple through the region.

Compared with Nebraska, Texas and other giant livestock-producing states, Washington could hardly be called cattle country — unless you live in Mabton, a hay bale of a town surrounded by a patchwork of dairy farms, hop fields and fruit orchards.

Nestled in the Yakima Valley, the population barely tips 2,000. Livestock outnumber people by loads. After a fresh rain, the air smells of manure and damp cow.

Dilapidated buildings dot the town center. A saloon and a gas-station food mart serve as gathering places, where farmhands and fruit-processing workers meet to swap gossip.

On this day, talk was less about the disease than the horde of media people with cameras and satellite trucks in tow.

"What a way to put Mabton on the map," lamented Sky Simpson, 31, as she purchased groceries at Blue Sky Market.

"All morning, more reporters," chimed in the checkout clerk.

This, by far, is the biggest thing to happen to Mabton, said Mayor David Conradt.

"We're really a small farming community," said Conradt, an accountant. "People go about their business and try their best to support their families."

Conradt said that, so far, concern about the disease seemed small. Mostly, there are questions.

"I think what people want to know is, was this one cow? Is it an isolated incident? How did it get it (mad-cow disease)?"

Conradt said he didn't know Wavrin well and knew little about his operation, even though it's one of the larger dairy farms in the area.

Other dairy farmers did their best to elude reporters.

Sid Leyendekker, owner of Hidden Valley Dairy, had to pull down the sign at his ranch entrance after a television station erroneously reported it as the source of the diseased cow.

"You guys have to stir up the pot," he said.

But after calming himself a moment, he reflected on the impact the news could have on the community and the industry.

"It'll be rough," he said.

Simpson, who grows silage and corn as feed for a number of local dairy farms, said the effects could trickle across several industries, including hers.

"It's not just the dairy or beef industry, it's all the other people who support the industry," she said.

Livestock sales annually account for about 33 percent of Yakima County's $873 million agricultural industry, according to the latest figures from the USDA.

'Inspection system works'

The cow from Sunny Dene Ranch was purchased in 2001, likely from one of the sale yards in Central Washington, said Bill Brookreson, deputy director of the state agriculture department. Earlier this month, it was sent to Vern's Moses Lake Meat Co. for slaughter, where it was classified as a "downer" cow because it was unable to walk, Brookreson said.

The meat was processed at three plants, in Centralia and in Portland and Clackamas, Ore.

Tom Ellestad, co-owner of Vern's, voluntarily recalled potentially affected meat from the plant yesterday. In an interview with Moses Lake's Columbia Basin Herald, he said the federal process set up to detect mad-cow disease worked well.

"We have done nothing wrong," he said. "The inspection system works because we caught this cow."

After a sample of nerve tissue was extracted from the cow for testing, the animal's brain and spinal cord were sent to a rendering plant in Spokane. That tissue was processed but had not left the rendering plant, said Ray Kelly, executive vice president of Baker Commodities, which owns the facility.

He said the company was working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and had voluntarily ceased shipments of rendered material, which is turned into high-protein meal for poultry feed or into tallow.

"We have records of all movements of the sale product, and it is fully contained," Kelly said. "We have no doubt about that."

Powell, the WSU spokesman, said Wavrin is held in high regard at the university. Veterinary students often visit his ranch to view his operation.

"He runs a very professional dairy, and he has an exemplary records-keeping system," Powell said.

"Really, what it looks like at this point is something bad happening to a very good person."

Seattle Times staff researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report.

Ray Rivera: 206-464-2926 or rayrivera@seattletimes.com

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