USDA spokesman Jerry Redding would not discuss the problems that were found with the equipment because he said he did not know any specific information. It shows that procedures and protocols were in place and they are working. Boyd said before the equipment left Europe, it was to have been steam cleaned twice and gone through a disinfecting procedure. Allee said USDA and German army officials were trying to see if some resolution could be reached regarding the rejected equipment. Officials with the Texas Department of Agriculture, as well as the Texas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization, and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association have raised concerns about the use of military equipment from Europe during the exercise.
Cattle account for almost half of the state's agricultural income.
Germany has no recorded incidents of the highly contagious disease, while other European countries, particularly Great Britain, have been hard. The United States has not had a reported case since 1929.