Mr Brown said the checks on countries wanting to bring beef to Australia under the changed rules for BSE should not take "a couple of years to do" and he fears what action may follow if this new IRA is seen as a trade barrier in other countries.

Mr Brown said Cattle Council believed the risk assessment already promised would have been sufficient, and those that did not take that view "don't know".

"They've been spooked by a lot of people out there.

"I will guarantee there wouldn't be two cockies in a million that would have any idea what it means.

"We've made an attempt to explain the situation but nobody else has."

Mr Brown said the alleged risk of BSE coming to Australia and infecting the Australian cattle herd had been "beaten up" by Senators such as Bill Heffernan, Nick Xenophon and Fiona Nash, and he said most of their claims had been based on "misinformation".

"Let's put this in perspective and stop talking about this ridiculous risk factor. There's no suck thing as nil risk, and minimal risk is about as low as you'll possibly get."

The NSW Farmers Association – a key member of the Cattle Council - this week passed a resolution calling for the IRA and in-country inspections before imports commenced at a meeting in Griffith.

Mr Brown, who was present at the meeting, said it was "their business" what resolutions the association passed, but it would not form part of Cattle Council policy because it already had a previously agreed to position on the matter.