BILLINGS, Mon. — A number of parties were scheduled across Western Canada this weekend to celebrate the end of the U.S. ban on Canadian cattle, but it appears they will have to be postponed.

A U.S. federal judge today granted a request from a U.S. protectionist group to postpone the re-opening of the border over continued mad cow concerns.

The border was scheduled to re-open on Monday, however, a Montana-based judge agreed with the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) allegations that the border was being re-opened prematurely. R-CALF insisted if the border re-opened on Monday it would cause American producers immediate and irreparable damage.

Judge Richard Cebull encouraged R-CALF to apply for a permanent injunction and said he would publish his written reasons for his decision tomorrow. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will likely appeal the decision, but it’s not known when.