Federal Bill Could Help Ranchers
Area ranchers are taking a waitand- see approach regarding a new federal bill that will put a “product of USA” label on beef grown in the United States.
“On the surface, it sounds good and why not,” Jim Steinbeisser, president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, said. “But it’s not as simple as we would like it to be.”
Steinbeisser, a rancher in Richland County, said that during last week’s National Cattlemen’s Beef Association meeting held in Nashville, there were a lot of questions about the legislation at this point. The bill has been introduced, but no debate has taken place and not much information has been released.
“The devil’s in the details,” Steinbeisser said. “It will be a long ways off before it’s voted on. We’re cautiously support the concept, but we need to really look into it.”
Steinbeisser added a petition is being worked on with USDA as far as classification of products. Currently, if beef from different countries are processed in the United States, it can be labeled as made in the U.S. The petition is to change the label to “processed in the United States.”
He said labeling concerns have been worked on for years, but he’s confident about the future of beef marketing.
“In a year from now, I feel we will have strong cattle prices,” Steinbeisser said. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., has introduced the bill with the support of other senators from western states.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is one of the co-sponsors of the bill.
“Montana ranchers produce the best beef in the world,” Daines said. “Montana ranchers deserve to receive a fair price for their beef, and Montana families at the store deserve to know the quality of what they are buying. More accurate labeling is a win for all Montanans.”
The bill would limit the use of the “Product of USA” label to beef products that are born, raised and slaughtered in the United States.
Rounds said, “As I continue to work with my colleagues on re-establishing mandatory country of origin labeling, we must fix the current labels to protect consumers and producers. For far too long, South Dakota producers have suffered as their high-quality, American- raised beef has lost value as it’s mixed with foreign beef, raised and processed under different standards. This is wrong. Consumers deserve to know where their beef comes from and accurate, transparent labeling supports American farmers and ranchers. It’s long past time we fix this once and for all.”
The USA Beef Act is being endorsed by the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, R-CALF, the South Dakota Farmers Union and the South Dakota Stockgrowers Assocation.
U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., has introduced a similar bill in the House.
“American ranchers deserve a fair shake. Allowing multinational companies to utilize the ‘Product of USA’ label while importing foreign meat is both deceiving to the consumer and a hindrance to American producers. This legislation offers a common-sense solution to the benefit of both American ranchers and consumers,” Rosendale said.
He noted that under current law, meatpackers are allowed to import cattle raised in foreign countries, slaughter and package them in the United States, and then send them to market at a premium by labeling it as a product of the U.S.A. Allowing foreign importers to reap the benefits of using the “Product of USA” label defeats the purpose of having a label at all, while also undermining America’s ranchers who genuinely utilize practices deserving of the label.
