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Today 4/4/2006 12:08:00 PM
R-CALF: California Cattle Producers Host Informational Meeting
(Bakersfield, Calif.) – The first ever R-CALF USA meeting in Bakersfield was hosted by local R-CALF USA members and marked a historic event for independent cattle producers in Kern County. More than 60 people gathered to discuss marketing and trade issues that impact cattle producers, such as Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), animal identification, free trade agreements and concerns about the meat packing industry.
“I hope this is the beginning of a large membership increase in California for R-CALF that will lead to greater influence for independent cattle producers on trade and marketing issues,” said R-CALF USA Southern California Membership Co-Chair Richard Snedden, of Maricopa.
Tom Twisselman, of McKittrick, is the other R-CALF USA Southern California Membership Co-Chair, and said area producers want to learn more about international trade and Animal ID, and most own small cow herds and realize competition issues make a real difference to their long-term survival.
“We need to keep producers informed on the issues and aggressively look out for the interests of U.S. cattle producers,” said Twisselman. “R-CALF is taking on the issues these producers want addressed. What was encouraging about the meeting was to see people show up who have not been involved in our local cattlemen’s association.
“Packer concentration is a huge issue in the industry, especially to those of us down here about to sell our grass-fed cattle,” continued Twisselman. “We certainly hope that Congress will continue to go forward to make sure the Packers and Stockyards Act is enforced.”
R-CALF USA member Jim Froehlich, a producer from Bakersfield, also assisted with the meeting. He said area ranchers like the direction R-CALF is taking, and that’s probably one of the reasons for all the new faces at the meeting.
“We spoke about COOL and the reasons it hasn’t been implemented, one being the packers have too much influence with USDA,” said Froehlich. “While U.S. beef continues to be the safest and most wholesome in the world, without COOL in place, U.S. producers don’t get the benefit of differentiating their beef from beef imported in from other countries.
“U.S. consumers know that the U.S. has the safest and the most wholesome beef in the world, but we can’t maintain that reputation while U.S. beef is co-mingled with beef imported from countries with disease problems,” Froelich continued. “We know Japan’s BSE problem is much worse than ours, and that they will not accept our beef, yet USDA claims it’s OK for us to import beef of any age from the Japanese.
“Regarding Animal ID, many ranchers feel that premise identification is an invasion of their privacy,” noted Froehlich. “We are concerned about the paperwork and having to report movements of our animals.”
Maitia’s Basque Café was the site for the dinner. Tractor Supply Co. donated a halter for a door prize.
R-CALF: California Cattle Producers Host Informational Meeting
(Bakersfield, Calif.) – The first ever R-CALF USA meeting in Bakersfield was hosted by local R-CALF USA members and marked a historic event for independent cattle producers in Kern County. More than 60 people gathered to discuss marketing and trade issues that impact cattle producers, such as Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), animal identification, free trade agreements and concerns about the meat packing industry.
“I hope this is the beginning of a large membership increase in California for R-CALF that will lead to greater influence for independent cattle producers on trade and marketing issues,” said R-CALF USA Southern California Membership Co-Chair Richard Snedden, of Maricopa.
Tom Twisselman, of McKittrick, is the other R-CALF USA Southern California Membership Co-Chair, and said area producers want to learn more about international trade and Animal ID, and most own small cow herds and realize competition issues make a real difference to their long-term survival.
“We need to keep producers informed on the issues and aggressively look out for the interests of U.S. cattle producers,” said Twisselman. “R-CALF is taking on the issues these producers want addressed. What was encouraging about the meeting was to see people show up who have not been involved in our local cattlemen’s association.
“Packer concentration is a huge issue in the industry, especially to those of us down here about to sell our grass-fed cattle,” continued Twisselman. “We certainly hope that Congress will continue to go forward to make sure the Packers and Stockyards Act is enforced.”
R-CALF USA member Jim Froehlich, a producer from Bakersfield, also assisted with the meeting. He said area ranchers like the direction R-CALF is taking, and that’s probably one of the reasons for all the new faces at the meeting.
“We spoke about COOL and the reasons it hasn’t been implemented, one being the packers have too much influence with USDA,” said Froehlich. “While U.S. beef continues to be the safest and most wholesome in the world, without COOL in place, U.S. producers don’t get the benefit of differentiating their beef from beef imported in from other countries.
“U.S. consumers know that the U.S. has the safest and the most wholesome beef in the world, but we can’t maintain that reputation while U.S. beef is co-mingled with beef imported from countries with disease problems,” Froelich continued. “We know Japan’s BSE problem is much worse than ours, and that they will not accept our beef, yet USDA claims it’s OK for us to import beef of any age from the Japanese.
“Regarding Animal ID, many ranchers feel that premise identification is an invasion of their privacy,” noted Froehlich. “We are concerned about the paperwork and having to report movements of our animals.”
Maitia’s Basque Café was the site for the dinner. Tractor Supply Co. donated a halter for a door prize.
