Cattle Futures Rise, Recovering from Steep Losses Fueled by Mad Cow Market Stampede

The U.S. beef industry should bounce back quickly from the country’s first confirmed case of mad cow disease in six years as improved safety standards bolster consumer confidence, analysts say.

Live cattle futures traded on CME Group in Chicago rose today, recovering some of yesterday’s steep losses fueled as mad cow concern rattled the market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday confirmed the discovery of a single case of mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in a central California dairy herd.

It’s unclear how the new case will affect domestic and foreign demand for U.S. beef in coming weeks, though analysts said the aftermath of the country’s more-recent mad cow infections suggest the cattle market won’t suffer significantly.