Mexico opens border to U.S. dairy heifers

Mexico opens border to U.S. dairy heifers    Mexico reopened its border Wednesday to U.S.-raised dairy heifers of no less than 24 months of age.
   Under the agreement with the United States, the U.S. cows must also be registered with a purebred dairy breed association or the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, a national dairy producer cooperative.
   The heifers will be individually registered as they depart the United States and their identification information will be entered into the Mexican animal identification system to deal with potential cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow” disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
   Mexico, like many countries, closed its market to U.S. dairy heifers in December 2003 after the USDA confirmed a case of BSE in a Washington state cow. In March 2004, Mexico opened its market to boneless U.S. beef from animals under 30 months of age, and in February, the country opened its market to U.S. bone-in beef from animals under 30 months of age.
   “My goal is to restore the once-vibrant live cattle commerce between the United States and Mexico and to do so in accordance with science-based international guidelines,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in a statement.
   In 2003, the United States exported $103 million worth of dairy heifers to Mexico.