|
|
|
SD Stockgrowers cheer COOL implementationSouth Dakota After years of delays, the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association is thrilled that country-of-origin labeling has finally become a reality. "It isn't going to be perfect right away, but nothing is," said SDSGA President Larry Nelson, Buffalo, S.D. "It will be a work in progress for a few months, but we are just glad to have something to work on, to learn what needs to be done to make improvements, and move forward with those improvements." "We appreciate USDA's willingness to allow an affidavit system to certify cattle as USA born and raised. Clearly the more simple and straightforward the process is for producers, the more accurate producers will be able to be," said Nelson. "A long, complicated paperwork system or the requirement of a bunch of expensive tags or devices would just open the door to corruption and cutting corners." The Stockgrowers now more than ever, urge consumers to ask their grocers for USA beef. "Finally we can tell our 'city cousins' to look for USA beef at their local markets," said Nelson. "If they don't find it, we encourage them to ask for it. We expect a transition period these next few months, so all grocery stores might not have labels right away, but the more questions they get from their customers, the more quickly they will want to start labeling their products." Nelson said the Stockgrowers, along with R-CALF USA, hope that USDA will issue a correction to their rules that will eliminate a problem area that will allow for mislabeling at the meat counter. According to R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard, "USDA has provided a loophole to meatpackers, which allows them to label USA beef with a North American label, such as 'Product of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico,' so long as one or more imported animals go through a packer's daily production run. We will fix this problem, but with consumers' help, we'll fix it sooner." "We strongly encourage consumers to insist on a specific 'country' label for beef, not a broad one that encompasses all of North America," said Nelson. "That obviously goes against the intent of the thousands of producers and consumers who lobbied long and hard for country-of-origin labeling." According to Nelson, the Stockgrowers submitted comments to USDA regarding the latest published regulations, and they will continue their efforts to ensure that country-of-origin labeling is fully implemented in a simple and effective way that benefits consumers and producers. 11/10/08 Date: 11/4/08 Advertisement
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
Market Snapshot Inside Futures |
