Beef-It's what's for dinner!

The cow did not enter the food supply for people or animals, officials said. The animal, unable to walk, was killed by a local veterinarian and buried on the farm.
"We remain very confident in the safety of U.S. beef," said the department's chief veterinarian, John Clifford.
Authorities said the farm was under an informal quarantine but would not say where it was.
--Alabama cow positive for BSE

The implication of this current set of planning prices is that beef cow profits will trend down through the end of this decade. Note, however, that 2006 calf prices are still projected to be the fourth highest in history. I project we should have five years (2003-2007) where calf prices exceed $100/cwt. Five years of record-high calf prices is about all we can expect in any one cattle cycle.
--Working the Cycle III

The cow had spent less than a year there before it died, officials said.
Federal and state investigators are working to determine the cow's age, where it was born and raised and locate its herdmates and offspring.
--Alabama cow positive for BSE

Females, however, can be marketed in several different programs. One is to sell them as preg-checked heifers. There are current reports of $1,500 prices for preg-checked heifers in today's market.
Developing and selling preg-checked heifers in the cycle's high-priced years is one way to make the cattle cycle work for you. Remember, bred-female prices tend to parallel calf prices. Thus, Figure 1 suggests selling bred heifers in 2003 to 2006 could well yield considerable profit.
--Working the cycle V

The age of the cow is important because the U.S. put safeguards in place nine years ago to prevent the disease from spreading. The U.S. banned ground-up cattle remains from being added to cattle feed in 1997. Eating contaminated feed is the only way cattle are known to contract the disease.
Older animals are more likely to have been exposed to contaminated feed circulating before the 1997 feed ban.
--Alabama cow positive for BSE

During the low-price period (1996-2003 in this chart), the typical rancher held back few replacement heifers, opting to sell most of his annual heifer calf crop. Once prices reached the beef price cycle peak and the sale-barn price of bred females exploded, he held back more heifers to expand his herd. In other words, he sold more calves when prices were low, and fewer calves when prices were high.
Iowa State University (ISU) research suggests beef cow profits over a complete cattle cycle can be increased by producing and selling more calves in high-price times, and fewer calves in low-price times. In other words, a counter-cyclical heifer replacement strategy generates higher total profits over the total cattle cycle.
--Working the Cycle IV

The news came as the Bush administration worked to reassure Japan and other foreign customers of American beef. ...
"Our product is safe. We've got a number of interlocking safeguards. And Japan themselves have had 20-plus cases of BSE"

They're working on reassuring foreign customers our beef is safe. Meanwhile we're not even allowed to know where the cow was.