March 6, 2003

 

Country Of Origin Labeling Meeting For Cattlemen To Be Aired On Web

Livestock producers will have the opportunity to learn more about country of origin labeling (COOL) in a series of upcoming meetings according to North Dakota State University Extension Service livestock economist Tim Petry.

Country of origin labeling (COOL) legislation and its impact on cow-calf producers will be the topic of a meeting that will available to cattle producers nationwide via the Internet. The meeting will be held on March 11 at 6:00 pm (CST) at the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Joplin, Missouri. Anyone wishing to view the live meeting should log on to www.joplinstockyards.com and click on the "COOL Web Cast" icon.

"These meetings will provide an opportunity for producers to ask questions about parts of the legislation that they may not understand. Producers will also have the opportunity to make suggestions for how the rules for mandatory implementation should be written," Petry says.

Scheduled speakers for the program include: William Sessions, associate deputy administrator for the Livestock and Seed Program, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA; Chandler Keys, vice-president for public policy, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA); Marcine Moldenhauer, value-added procurement manager, EXCEL Corporation; and Mark Dopp, general counsel, American Meat Institute (AMI). Guest speakers will be followed by a question and answer session.

The focus of the meeting will be to help producers understand how COOL impacts cow-calf producers. The meeting is being hosted and coordinated by Joplin Regional Stockyards, and the joint efforts of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association (MCA) and the NCBA. For more information on attending this meeting or viewing over the Internet please contact:

Mark Harmon (Joplin) 417-548-2333 markh@joplinstockyards.com

Luke Burbank (MCA) 573-499-9162 luke@mocattle.com

Melanie S. Daye (NCBA) 303-850-3388 mdaye@beef.org

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman on March 5 announced a series of listening and education sessions to gain more public input and provide more information about COOL which was part of the 2002 Farm Bill. The sessions will take place in 12 states including California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. AMS will announce specific dates and locations for these forums in the near future. For more information, go to the AMS Web site at www.ams.usda.gov .

Last year, AMS put in place voluntary requirements for the COOL legislation. AMS is now beginning the rule-making process for mandatory implementation which is to take place on September 30, 2004.

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Source: Tim Petry, (701) 231-7469, tpetry@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu