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TSCRA Daily News Update, May 23, 2008
Live cattle trade with Mexico opens The first shipments of U.S. breeding stock have crossed into Mexico under a new trade protocol agreed to earlier this spring. Since 2003, the only live cattle eligible for export to Mexico had been dairy heifers under the age of 24 months. Mexico's demand for U.S. breeding stock had declined due to an extended period of drought beginning in the late 1990s. But range conditions in Mexico have improved, and demand for U.S. breeding stock appears to be strong as Mexican ranchers are now in expansion mode for the first time in a decade. The Texas Department of Agriculture marked the occasion of the border reopening by organizing a ceremony May 21 to celebrate the first truckload of Texas bulls to cross the border in almost five years. However, complaints are already mounting about excessive notification and inspection requirements being imposed by the government of Mexico. These obstacles are making live cattle trade extremely difficult, and will greatly slow the movement of animals across the border. USDA officials have been made aware of the issue, and NCBA and its state affiliates will be working to resolve these problems.
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