For the first time since Mexico lifted its five-year ban on U.S. cattle earlier this year, 37 Angus bulls from Nebraska and Kansas crossed into Mexico at the Santa Teresa port of entry Wednesday afteroon, the El Paso Times reported.

It was the first crossing by U.S. cattle since Mexico imposed its ban after a case of mad cow disease was found in Washington state in 2003, the Times reported.

The Mexican ban was officially lifted on March 26, and while northbound crossings of Mexican cattle continued at the rate of about 320,000 a year, only a stray dairy cow crossed the other way -- until Wednesday, Daniel Manzanares, director of the Santa Teresa livestock crossing, told the Times.

Southbound cattle traffic is about to boom, a move that could mean millions of dollars in sales for the U.S. cattle industry, the Times reported.

"They need 5,000 bulls in Mexico right now," Manzanares told the Times. "I'll have another 120 (bulls) by Friday, and 600 are also on the way."

The 37 bulls that crossed Wednesday are the property of Jay Whetten, who owns 40,000 acres and about 1,000 head of cattle in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, the Times reported.

"There are bulls in Mexico, but with open borders, this gives us a wider variety, added genetic variety to give our cattle. That means that the cattle that come over to the U.S. can be of higher quality," Whetten told the Times.

The historic crossing didn't go without a hitch, however.

It was delayed a day because of a missing veterinarian, then a cattle chute broke, and it wasn't until 6:10 p.m. Wednesday that the first hoof stepped over the borderline, the Times reported. 

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