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R-CALF: Producers Thank House Ag Committee Chairman Peterson, NFU
7/25/2007 11:00:00 AM
R-CALF: Producers Thank House Ag Committee Chairman Peterson, NFU
Washington, D.C. – After a five-day struggle to find the appropriate language for the House Agriculture Committee's version of the 2007 Farm Bill regarding country-of-origin labeling (COOL), the final language will help the orderly implementation of this important law.
"We want to publicly thank House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson and the National Farmers Union (NFU) for allowing input from R-CALF USA on cattle-related issues throughout this entire process of writing the appropriate language that will benefit not only U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers, but U.S. beef consumers as well," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.
"Chairman Peterson had directed NFU to work on this, and we greatly appreciate that NFU invited R-CALF USA's outside counsel to assist in the negotiating process," he continued. "While R-CALF USA is singularly focused on cattle and beef, NFU covers a much broader agricultural scope, covering all the commodities included in the COOL law.
"NFU did an exemplary job of representing the interests of COOL supporters and they were instrumental in negotiating workable language," noted Bullard. "Through their persistence and perseverance, the COOL language paves the way for COOL implementation without creating a burden for cattle producers or any other sector of the industry.
"A particularly contentious issue was how to label meat from livestock that already are in the United States when the COOL law takes effect," he explained. "The outcome of the negotiations addressed this challenge by presuming everything in the U.S., as of Jan. 1, 2008, to be of domestic origin and eligible for the USA label.
"R-CALF USA supports the new COOL language and looks forward to the full implementation of COOL at the earliest possible date," Bullard concluded.
7/25/2007 11:00:00 AM
R-CALF: Producers Thank House Ag Committee Chairman Peterson, NFU
Washington, D.C. – After a five-day struggle to find the appropriate language for the House Agriculture Committee's version of the 2007 Farm Bill regarding country-of-origin labeling (COOL), the final language will help the orderly implementation of this important law.
"We want to publicly thank House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson and the National Farmers Union (NFU) for allowing input from R-CALF USA on cattle-related issues throughout this entire process of writing the appropriate language that will benefit not only U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers, but U.S. beef consumers as well," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.
"Chairman Peterson had directed NFU to work on this, and we greatly appreciate that NFU invited R-CALF USA's outside counsel to assist in the negotiating process," he continued. "While R-CALF USA is singularly focused on cattle and beef, NFU covers a much broader agricultural scope, covering all the commodities included in the COOL law.
"NFU did an exemplary job of representing the interests of COOL supporters and they were instrumental in negotiating workable language," noted Bullard. "Through their persistence and perseverance, the COOL language paves the way for COOL implementation without creating a burden for cattle producers or any other sector of the industry.
"A particularly contentious issue was how to label meat from livestock that already are in the United States when the COOL law takes effect," he explained. "The outcome of the negotiations addressed this challenge by presuming everything in the U.S., as of Jan. 1, 2008, to be of domestic origin and eligible for the USA label.
"R-CALF USA supports the new COOL language and looks forward to the full implementation of COOL at the earliest possible date," Bullard concluded.
