Denver ? It is the elephant in a room full of cattlemen: The mad cow scare is the topic everyone seems to be talking about at the National Western Stock Show, one of the nation’s largest gatherings of beef ranchers.

As a train rumbled by and young cowboys and cowgirls led their steers to the sale barn Tuesday, Steve Douthit, of St. Francis, Kan., and Robert Jutten, of Palisade, Neb., stood in the stockyards and swapped concerns about how record prices for cattle have plummeted 20 percent.

“Cattle prices have come back a little bit. I’d like to think the big scare is over,” said Douthit, 51.

Both men said they thought the government did a decent job handling the crisis. Both also complained about the news media, saying television constantly replayed images of a staggering cow that was filmed years ago in Europe.

The U.S. beef industry has been plunged into uncertainty since the first domestic case of the disease showed up in Washington state last month. Ranchers say that the animal was imported from Canada, which had a mad cow case in May, shows the U.S. food system is safe.

But more than 30 countries have banned U.S. beef, and cattle prices are still far below the highs of about $90 per 100 pounds paid before the scare. Livestock auctions have been canceled and others are nearly deserted as sellers hold out to see if prices would improve.

Stock show officials put together a symposium with Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and stock show President Pat Grant to sort the facts from fears.

James Milligan, 50, of Kings, Ill., raises Herefords and his family has been ranching on the same land since 1836. The stock show veteran, who hasn’t sold any animals since the scare began, also is worried about falling cattle prices.

“We got over a dollar a pound for the last batch we sold, now they’re going for 80 cents a pound,” he said.

Steve Douthit, of St. Francis, Kan., talks about how the U.S. case of mad cow disease has lowered the price of cattle. He attended Tuesday's National Western Stock Show in Denver.