(Grand Island Independent) -- U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said a compromise between U.S. and South Korean trade negotiators will help to put U.S. beef on the tables of South Koreans. He said the compromise being proposed by South Korea is to accept beef from cattle 30 months or younger from the United States, "to get us through the immediate crisis." After speaking with producers and livestock organizations, Hagel said, he got a consensus that they would agree to a compromise like that. U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said he doesn't support changing Korea's recent agreement to resume importing U.S. beef according to international, science-based guidelines. South Korea banned U.S. beef after the first North American case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, was identified in a U.S. dairy cow in 2003. When South Korean President Lee Myun-bak recently announced plans to lift the ban, that prompted protests by thousands of South Koreans. His cabinet offered to step down amid a growing political crisis. Nelson said a pending trade agreement with South Korea should not move forward until the beef issue is resolved. South Korea was the third-largest overseas market for U.S. beef until it suspended imports. Before the ban, South Korea was Nebraska's second-largest beef market, valued at $108 million annually. Restricted imports of U.S. beef reached South Korean supermarkets last year, but shipments were put on hold after banned parts, such as bones, were found in a shipment.
