The USDA and the Bush Administration has resisted allowing cattle producers to have their animals tested and certified free from BSE. This heavy-handed resistance is unfair and allows the ban on U.S. beef imports by dozens of nations to punish our cattle producers and associated industries. U.S. beef products, some of the finest and most profitable in the world, are subject to an unnecessary and inexplicable government restriction which limits competition and hinders trade.

The Discovery

In December of 2003, a confirmed case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, "Mad Cow") in the United States was announced. The condition was found in a single Holstein cow in Washington state.

Given the massive and horrific outbreak in Britain, the immediate response of the United States government (USDA and FDA) was to announce bans to prevent certain nervous system and other cattle tissues from entering the human food supply and animal feed. The FDA site on BSE.

The Current Situation

After the announced "outbreak", South Korea and Japan placed bans, which continue to this day, on the importation of U.S. beef. The market for American beef in these two countries alone is estimated at nearly $1.5 billion.

The additional loss from bans placed by other countries amounts to several hundred million dollars. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, an industry trade-group, estimated the market for exported U.S. beef to be $3.86 billion at the end of 2003.

Testing Disallowed

The enterprising folks at Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a Kansas-based beef producer, have sought to have all of their cattle tested privately which would allow them to begin selling beef to Japan. The USDA lacks the resources to test even a small percentage of the 35 million cattle slaughtered annually in the United States. This proposal was rejected by the USDA. Creekstone was willing to pay for the testing for export cattle and expects to accomplish it substantially cheaper than government estimates indicate.

In April 2004, Creekstone submitted this blistering response to the USDA.

The Result

Creekstone claims losses of $200,000 per day due to the government's resistance to the private testing.

Creekstone announced the layoff of 150 workers shortly before Christmas. This is in addition to 50 it laid off previously.

"What we predicted has happened - that is, we are not able to ship because we are not testing. We are not doing what the customer wants. We continue to think that is wrong," said Bill Fielding, Creekstone's chief operating officer.

The actions of the USDA in this matter are directly to blame for the loss of 200 jobs, millions of dollars in economic damage, and the ensuing tax revenues lost on those sales .

The mailing address for the USDA:

U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250.