Downed cows probably entered U.S. food supply (USA Today) Meat from cows that were illegally slaughtered at a California slaughterhouse probably entered the U.S. food supply, a senior U.S. Department of Agriculture official testified at a congressional hearing Wednesday. [News Source]

Livestock Highlights: Oklahoma Hearing, Cattle Top, Biodiesel, India Bird Flu (CattleNetwork.com) WINNIPEG (Dow Jones)--Plans to build a new one million head per year hog slaughtering plant in Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , are advancing as planned, with construction set to begin this summer, according to a consultant involved in the project. [News Source]

Slaughterhouse had previous abuse citations (Orange County Register) Chino slaughterhouse won a U.S. award for supplying meat for school lunches. But plant had a history of inhumane treatment of cows. Owner will testify in Washington Wednesday. [News Source]

The search for funding (The Providence Journal) PROVIDENCE — Tricia R. Serio netted a coveted Research Project grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2006, helping her build a laboratory at Brown University to study the causes of mad cow disease and similar illnesses. [News Source]

Slaughterhouse had previous abuse citations (Orange County Register) Chino slaughterhouse won a U.S. award for supplying meat for school lunches. But plant had a history of inhumane treatment of cows. OC owner will testify in Washington today. [News Source]

Lessons learned from largest U.S. meat recall (AG Weekly) Not since Upton Sinclair’s 1906 book “The Jungle” has the American meat market been this shaken. [News Source]

High Commodity Prices Boost U.S. Ag Exports Forecast To Record $101 Billion (CattleNetwork.com) COLLEGE STATION – U.S. agricultural exports are projected to surpass $101 billion in 2008, with more than two-thirds of the total value attributed to high commodity prices, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service economist. [News Source]

Bar all downed cattle from nation’s meat supply. Downers make up no more than a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of cattle that are slaughtered every year. Why does USDA feel the need to bow to industry pressure to squeeze every last penny out of these disabled animals? [News Source]

Agriculture officials have beef with Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Mexico and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are negotiating a trade agreement that would presumably pave the way for the export of U.S. breeding stock, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. [News Source]

Oversight ‘flaw’ led to meat recall. Millions were spent on upgrading the interior of the Hallmark/Westland meatpacking plant, but top executives spent little time monitoring the facility's outdoor cattle pens. That failure led to the largest beef recall in U.S. history. [News Source]