1.   Australian lamb, it turns out, has been doing so well on the American market that sheep ranchers had begun to complain.

2.   The strong American dollar has made New Zealand and Australian lamb particularly cheap, even after refrigerated ocean shipping.

3.   Australian lamb producers were being punished simply for succeeding and he described the U.S. decision as hypocritical.

4.   Australian lamb producers began Sunday what they say will be a one-month picket of the United States embassy in Canberra to protest U.S. lamb import restrictions.

5.   In reality, the impact of the U.S. decision on Australian lamb producers may be marginal.