China opens markets to U.S. beef

After more than a decade of refusing to take U.S. beef, China has re-opened its markets in a move that will allow Montana ranchers to export their product to the Asian country.

China, along with many other countries, closed its markets to importing U.S. beef after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad cow disease, was confirmed in the United States in 2003. The cow was later discovered to have been imported from Canada.

Three other cases later were confirmed in cattle in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

U.S. officials - includ...