A Western blot analysis, used to detect specific proteins in tissue samples, is used to confirm BSE in cattle. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Scotland identifies ‘classical’ BSE case

Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — Scotland’s government said on Thursday that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) had been discovered on a farm in Aberdeenshire, the first in Britain since 2015. A quarantine area has been put in place around the farm while inspectors try to identify the origin of the disease. “I have activated […] Read more


Cattle on pasture in the Philippines. (LeoLee/iStock/Getty Images)

Canadian cattle’s access to Philippines restored

Reading Time: 2 minutes The regulatory path has been cleared to resume exports of live Canadian cattle to the Philippines, reopening a market worth an estimated $8 million per year. The federal government on Monday announced the resumed export clearance, along with new market access for Canadian sheep and goat genetics exports to both Indonesia and the Philippines. The […] Read more

Cattle graze at a military base in Florida. (Wirepec/iStock/Getty Images)

Florida finds atypical BSE case

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — A six-year-old beef cow in Florida tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday. The animal tested positive for atypical H-type BSE on Aug. 26 at the Colorado State University’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory, as part of routine surveillance of cattle that are found to […] Read more


A Western blot analysis, used to confirm BSE in bovine brain tissue. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Alabama finds atypical BSE case

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — An 11-year-old cow in Alabama tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. The cow tested positive for the atypical L-type of BSE after exhibiting clinical signs at an Alabama livestock market, USDA said in a press release. Atypical BSE can arise spontaneously in cattle herds, […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

More BSE tests, no BSE seen in 2016

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian beef cattle producers handed over more samples in 2016 than in 2015 to be tested for BSE, turning up zero cases of the brain-wasting disease. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association on Monday reported 27,346 samples were submitted to the national BSE surveillance program in 2016 — up four per cent from 26,285 in 2015, but […] Read more

Ireland reports BSE case, says no risk to health

Reading Time: < 1 minute Dublin | Reuters — Ireland said Wednesday that a dead cow had been confirmed as having bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), but said it had not entered the food chain and there was no risk to human health or beef’s trade status. The animal tested positive for “atypical” BSE, Ireland’s agriculture department said in a statement, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Mexico reopens to all Canadian beef

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beef and beef products from Canadian cattle of all ages may again be shipped to Mexico under newly expanded access announced Friday. The announcement from Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, on his first official visit to Mexico, follows up on a joint statement in June that Mexico was in the “final stages of due diligence” to reopen […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle decline on profit-taking

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell one per cent on Thursday, pressured by technical selling and as investors took profits following Wednesday’s nearly four-week high, traders and analysts said. Feeder cattle futures also were mostly lower while lean hog futures were mixed, with the front-month contract hitting the lowest levels […] Read more