January 27, 2014 Washington, D.C.  – Today, the meatpacker and poultry industry attacked the Farm Bill conference for standing with farmers, ranchers, consumers and rural communities that have advocated for transparent country-of-origin labeling as well as commonsense Packers & Stockyards Act contract protections for poultry and hog producers. The farm bill conference is likely to include several strong positives for livestock, which calls into question the meat and poultry industry commitment to the livestock sector and motives in attacking the Farm Bill. Permanent baseline funding for livestock programs is part of the bill, including nearly $5 billion in disaster funds, an improved Livestock Forage Program, and various livestock health initiatives.

The Farm Bill conferees must resist the last-ditch counter-attack by the meatpacking and poultry lobbies and stand up for the millions of working farmers and ranchers across the country and the hundreds of millions of consumers that support the country-of-origin labels that were finalized in 2013. The Farm Bill conference report should not make any changes to country-of-origin labeling or livestock reform provisions that could undermine support for final passage of the Farm Bill. Now is not the time to retreat on these meaningful labels and protections that farm and consumer advocates have fought for since before the 2002 Farm Bill.

Buckeye Quality Beef Association
Cattle Producers of Louisiana
Cattle Producers of Washington
Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association
Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform
Food & Water Watch
Hmong National Development, Inc.
Independent Beef Association of North Dakota (I-BAND)
Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska
Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Kansas Cattlemen’s Association
Missouri’s Best Beef Co-Operative

Missouri Rural Crisis Center
Murray County, Oklahoma Independent Cattlemen’s Association
National Farmers Union
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Nevada Live Stock Association
Northern Wisconsin Beef Producers
Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM)
R-CALF USA
Rural Advancement Foundation International USA
South Dakota Stockgrowers Association

 

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is the largest producer-only cattle trade association in the United States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.