United States-USDA ban private BSE testing.

AUSTRALIA

GOVERNMENT BUY BRAINS.

The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, in Queensland Australia, introduced a scheme earlier in the year where they buy back the brains from fallen stock, in order to check for BSE.

Tim Mulhern, the minister in charge, has now raised the price to farmers to $300 for cattle brains and $50 for sheep brains. The idea which probably has better public relations value to foreign buyers than substance can only be commended.

Recently in the USA, when a meat company wished to do private testing for BSE on all the cattle they processed, the scheme was bitterly opposed by the USDA. There is no reason for this mystery and smoking mirrors down at the USDA this could only have helped regain some trust and confidence in the industry.

The open handed attitude of the authorities in Australia, can only help the beef industry, especially after the recent problems in South Korea. The brains are only taken from cattle over the age of 30 months, for monitoring purposes