CME live cattle futures -- basis Feb 04 -- from a low close on 5/20 of 72.72, ran up to the high close on 12/2 of 94.70. On that date, USDA announced the likely resumption of importation of Canadian cattle younger than 30 months, beginning in early 2004. These cattle were previously barred from import due to 1 incident of BSE discovered this past May. Since 12/2, LC futures have spent the past week getting absolutely trashed, down almost 6 full cents, now trading at 88.83.
Prior months, notably the October 03 contract, actually traded over $1.00 for several days, the first time in history that this figure has been reached.