Cows In a U.S. Pasture

Dec. 29, 2003 — Consumers and farmers were cautious — but not panic-stricken — days after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was discovered at a farm in Washington state.

U.S. officials confirmed the country's first mad cow case Friday from a dairy cow, following tests in Britain.

Meat from the affected Holstein dairy cow and 19 others was sold in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Montana, Hawaii, Idaho and the U.S. territory of Guam, according to Kenneth Petersen of the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service.

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But U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said meat from the affected animal represents a "miniscule" risk to humans.

Despite such reassurances, more than 30 countries have halted U.S. beef imports.

"They lied to us for years about how good their inspections are," said Mary Kolby, a "fresh food activist" who belongs to an organization known as Slow Food.

"They banned the use of animal products to feed cattle six years ago, but the Bush administration has been lax in enforcing it," she complained. Feed that uses animal byproducts is thought to encourage the spread of mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Beef producers are watching national and international markets disappear and their herds face quarantine or destruction.

And while a dairy farm in Washington's Yakima Valley is where the infected cow was discovered, experts, industry groups and governments have been trying to reassure the public, saying the disease does not transmit through cow's milk.

"Things were just looking up," said Jay Gordon, a dairy farmer and director of the Washington State Dairy Federation. "The negative margins were just starting to disappear, now we're back to them."

A surplus in dairy supply has existed since the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to Gordon. "This is not a merry Christmas for our industry. Our producers are very worried. We're just telling them to hang in there, the USDA will track this down."

Dairy farmers in Washington state earn up to 10 percent of gross annual revenues from "cull dairy cows" — animals that are past their milk-producing prime. They are sold for beef, usually for burgers in fast food chains, Gordon said.

A typical dairy farm can earn up to $60,000 a year from their sale. "If the price falls to half of what it was on Friday, that's about a $30,000 hit per farm."

Statewide, some 4,000 people are employed directly by dairy farms. But the ripple effect could impact another 20,000 dairy dependent jobs in hay production, transportation and the manufacture of dairy products, Gordon said.