Editorial: USDA needs to switch gears on BSE
US - Last week the U.S. Agriculture Department admitted that its testing options for mad cow disease were limited to only one type of test in 2 percent of cases in the last 14 months. We are not waving a panic flag over bovine spongiform encephalophathy...

Ontario cow recalled from US under BSE rules
WASHINGTON — Canadian beef banned under mad cow disease rules was shipped to wholesalers in a half-dozen states and is now being recalled by a Wisconsin beef plant. The 842 kilograms of beef came from an Ontario cow, officials say. Inspectors in Ontario...

Nearly a Thousand Violations of Mad Cow Rules at Slaughter Plants
US - In stark contrast to the public relations message touted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the beef industry that the U.S. regulatory system is adequate to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, an analysis released today by the...

USDA cites plants for violating mad cow rules
US - Inspectors have found more than 1,000 violations of rules aimed at preventing mad cow disease from reaching humans, the Agriculture Department said Monday. No contaminated meat reached consumers, the agency said. The rules were created in response...

USDA Proposes Amendments Regarding Boneless Beef From Japan
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced that it proposes to amend the regulations for the importation of meat and other edible animal products by allowing, under specified conditions,...

USDA proposes to ease mad cow ban on Japan beef
US - The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday proposed allowing imports of Japan's Kobe beef, easing a nearly four-year ban imposed because of mad cow disease concerns. An activist farm group criticized the proposed rule, saying the USDA was sacrificing...

USDA Wants Science-Based BSE TestsUSDA Wants Science-Based BSE Tests
US - For a second time in as many years USDA denied Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC, a privately owned producer and processor, the authority to test company-owned cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), company officials told DTN. Creekstone...

Latest suspected US case of BSE comes up negative
US - What looked like the possible third case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States has now been confirmed as a false alarm, leaving the number of domestic cattle infected with the disease at two, with one of those being Canadian-born. Source:...

US cow cleared of BSE
US - The United States does not have a third case of mad cow disease, according to just released test results. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says its own lab and one in Weybridge, England, have gotten negative test results for a suspect US...

US has first native BSE case
US - A 12-year-old, Brahma-cross cow from a commercial operation in Texas is the first domestic case of BSE in the U.S., USDA said June 24. The downer cow spent its whole life in Texas and was discovered at a pet food plant in Waco. USDA won't name...

USDA to run more tests in possible BSE case
US - Federal officials said yesterday that testing of a 12-year-old cow yielded possible signs of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and that further tests are being conducted to clarify whether the disease was present. Source: Cidrap

US finds third possible BSE case
US - The United States is looking into a possible third case of mad cow disease, the country's agriculture department says. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting further tests on the animal, said the department's chief veterinarian, John...

Appeals court rules judge erred in keeping Canadian cattle out after mad cow scare
US - A federal judge overstated the potential harm of allowing limited shipments of Canadian cattle into the United States after mad cow disease was found in Canada, an appeals court panel concluded in documents released Monday. Source: azcent...

Farmers more concerned about dry conditions than BSE
US - Market prices for cattle are strong despite drought situations in parts of Texas and the announcement June 29 that a Texas cow had tested positive for BSE. “Everybody is very concerned about the drought going on. That’s the topic of conversation...

Lessons from the great beef war
US - The reopening of the American border to live Canadian cattle may be good news for some in Canada, but it begs the question — what have we learned from this entire process? Have we finally learned that American interests can pretty much do what...

Penn State scientists say BSE testing not perfect, but effective
US - As the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigates the origins of a recently confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow disease" in Texas - the second case discovered on American soil * some observers have raised questions about...

U.S. government seeks to overturn court ban on Canadian cattle imports
US - A U.S. government lawyer slammed an American ranching group Wednesday for using questionable scientific reasoning to justify a continued ban on Canadian cattle imports. "Their risk assessment assumes everything goes wrong," Mark Stern, acting for...

Jolley: Harkin hits Johanns on the BSE issue
US - As the politics behind BSE continue to grow and fester, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, posed four questions in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. Harkin’s good friend Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minnesota, wants to take it a step farther. He’s...

USDA and HHS Urged to Strengthen BSE Protections
US - R-CALF USA today sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt urging the agency leaders to immediately strengthen U.S. protection measures against bovine spongiform encephalopathy...

Possible New Case Of Mad Cow Disease Discovered
Washington D.C. - According to the Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns there could be a second case of mad cow disease in the U.S. Source: All Headline News