Country of Origin Labeling may be anything but COOL for everyday farmers

By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition

Ernie Davis, Extension economist, gave an overview of COOL during the Clifton program, April 3. -- Photo by Mandy Spikes

April 10, 2003 -- Country of Origin Labeling, also known as COOL, has become a hot topic being discussed among farmers, ranchers, as well as many agricultural organizations. COOL is a provision that was included in last year's Federal farm bill, The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.

This law, which is voluntary until September 30, 2004, asks retailers to label certain agricultural commodities with their country of origin. These covered commodities include fresh or frozen muscle cuts of beef, lamb, and pork; ground beef, lamb, and pork; and farm-raised fish and shellfish.

On April 3, at the Clifton Livestock Commission Company, the Central Texas Regional Cattle Management Program allowed local cattlemen to gain current information on the law and what lies ahead in the future. Ernie Davis, Extension economist, gave an overview on COOL and Matt Brockman, executive vice president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), talked about how COOL will impact the cattle industry.

"The good news is that the law is only two pages long," began Davis. "The bad news is that the implementation is over 20 pages long."

He said the retailer of a covered commodity must know where the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered.

"They will require you to keep records of the animal. You must keep these records for two years. What we aren't sure of right now is if it's two years before the animal was sold or after it was sold. There are still a lot of questions that have yet to be answered."

Davis stated that both restaurants and food chains are exempt from this labeling. "If you are not a restaurant or a food chain, then you must have the information available.

"If you take an animal to market and you don't have the audited information, then you will probably be docked 30 to 50 percent at market. This information must be provided for the consumer.

"The dilemma right now is that even though the Secretary of Agriculture can't force you to document the animal's information, if the consumer wants it, then you must have it."

He explained that now would be a good time to start the documentation. "If you are having animals born now that you want to take to slaughter at 18 months, you must have these records. That is because September is 18 month away, when this becomes mandatory.

"Under the mandatory program, if it comes about, you must have a permanent method of ID for each animal, which includes the place of birth.

"I will leave you this to think about: If this turns into a complete traceback program, then there would be additional record methods to consider, as well as cost of feed, care, and treatment of each animal."

"Self-certification is no longer sufficient when it comes to keeping records on your animals," explained Brockman. "Retailers are going to want to see the records because they want to make sure someone doesn't take advantage of them by being dishonest."

He stated that the language that the farmers and ranchers are struggling through today is the language that was made up by senators. "The reason the bill was created was in the last farm bill, there were several cattle and livestock organizations that felt the government should have more impact in the market. Essentially, they wanted the government to have a bigger role."

Brockman informed participants that ground beef labeling was going to cost a lot of money to do. "Approximately 50 percent of the beef eaten in the U.S. is ground beef.

"I think it's a great concept because I want to know that I am buying U.S. beef. I just think that the system is so complex that we can't implement it without it costing a lot of money."

Members of TSCRA, including Brockman, passed a resolution Mar. 26, which asked Congress to repeal the mandatory provision of the country of origin labeling law and to instead go with a voluntary, market-driven approach. "We are going to Washington to discuss this issue with them to see if we can come up with a better solution than what we currently have."

Texas Farmers Union President Wes Sims, who was not at the event, had this to say about the new law:

"A few corporate giants, and the groups that represent them, would have us believe the COOL law that was included in the farm bill is actually a farm-of-origin labeling (FOOL) law. However, the claim lives up to its acronym.

"As an independent Texas agriculture producer, I am offended by the scare tactics that large agribusinesses are using to deter farmers and ranchers from supporting this beneficial law. Unfortunately, their claims are being backed up by recent USDA cost estimates that assume each of the two million farmers, ranchers, and fishermen in the country will need to implement a record-keeping system. That's just not COOL.

"It doesn't make sense to impose unnecessary paperwork on Texas' farmers and ranchers when records are already kept on animals imported into this country. The COOL law encourages use of certification programs that are already used by federal agencies.

"I believe that country of origin labeling, long supported by Farmers Union and many other farm, ranch and consumer groups, is one of the most important efforts to ensure the survivability and enhance economic opportunities for the U.S. independent livestock and produce farmers. In the global economy, our producers play on an unleveled playing field, disadvantaged by the value of our dollar and forced to compete with countries whose farmers, ranchers and processors produce in a system with much lower labor, environmental and sanitation standards," Sims said.

"I am excited about the potential benefits of a successfully implemented COOL law. I believe that stronger farmer-consumer relationships will be forged. Consumers will support our U.S. farm families and demand and choose our quality products. Family farm operations will become more profitable and the consumer will be assured safe, wholesome food. It's a win-win situation.

"The COOL law was written to protect producers, not additionally burden them. For this reason, Texas Farmers Union has advocated country-of-origin labeling for years and will continue to stand behind the law and make sure it is implemented in a farmer-and-rancher friendly way," he said.