News Update
October 22, 2014
International COOL Ruling
Runs Afoul of U.S. Court Decisions
The much anticipated ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding whether country-of-origin labeling (COOL) passes muster with the international tribunal was finally made public Oct. 20. The U.S. COOL law requires retailers to inform consumers as to the origins of meat.
The WTO has, for the second time, found in favor of the complaining parties because, according to the WTO, the COOL law continues to treat imported livestock less favorably than that accorded to domestic livestock.
As it did in 2012, the WTO is again recommending that the United States take steps to bring COOL into compliance with the WTO’s interpretation of the United States’ obligations under the world’s international trade laws.
“We anticipated this unfavorable WTO ruling and believe, as nearly one-third of the Senate believes, that the U.S. has the tools to address this ruling without weakening or suspending COOL,” said Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) CEO Bill Bullard.
“While we will be reviewing this lengthy decision to determine what, if any, additional modifications should be made to COOL, we urge the United States to exercise its right to appeal this decision and we fully expect that this dispute over COOL will continue at the WTO for many more months if not years,” Bullard added.
Congress first passed the consumer-friendly COOL law in 2002, but heated resistance from international meatpackers delayed its implementation until 2008. Almost immediately, Canada and Mexico, joined by world meat exporters Australia and Brazil, along with five other countries, challenged the U.S. law at the WTO.
In 2012 a three-member WTO panel ruled that livestock from Canada and Mexico were being treated less favorably than U.S. livestock under the COOL law and regulations.
Contrary to U.S. jurisprudence that would disallow such a blatant conflict of interest, one of the WTO’s three-member panelists that decided the case in favor of Canada and Mexico was a Mexican national.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to appease the WTO the United States rewrote the implementing regulations for COOL in 2013. The new regulations improved COOL by removing loopholes that had allowed multinational meatpackers to mislabel exclusively U.S. meat with a mixed-country label. It also provided consumers more detailed information regarding where the animal from which the meat was derived was born, where it was raised and where it was slaughtered.
For more information, please view the full release here.
USDA to Launch New Farm Bill Program to Help
Provide Relief to Farmers Affected by Severe Weather
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Oct. 21 the implementation of a new Farm Bill initiative that will provide relief to farmers affected by severe weather, including drought. The Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion, available nationwide for farmers of select crops starting next spring, allows eligible producers who have been hit with severe weather to receive a higher approved yield on their insurance policies through the federal crop insurance program.
Spring crops eligible for APH Yield Exclusion include corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, barley, canola, sunflowers, peanuts and popcorn. Nearly three-fourths of all acres and liability in the federal crop insurance program will be covered under APH Yield Exclusion.
The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff worked hard to implement several 2014 Farm Bill programs ahead of schedule, such as the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC), the Price Loss Coverage (PLC), Supplemental Coverage Option and Stacked Income Protection Plan. USDA is now able to leverage data from the ARC and PLC to extract the information needed to implement APH Yield Exclusion earlier than expected.
“Key programs launched or extended as part of the 2014 Farm Bill are essential to USDA’s commitment to help rural communities grow. These efforts give farmers, ranchers and their families better security as they work to ensure Americans have safe and affordable food,” said Vilsack. “By getting other 2014 Farm Bill programs implemented efficiently, we are now able to offer yield exclusion for Spring 2015 crops, providing relief to farmers impacted by severe weather.”
The APH Yield Exclusion allows farmers to exclude yields in exceptionally bad years (such as a year in which a natural disaster or other extreme weather occurs) from their production history when calculating yields used to establish their crop-insurance coverage. The level of insurance coverage available to a farmer is based on the farmer’s average recent yields. In the past, a year of particularly low yields that occurred due to severe weather beyond the farmer’s control would reduce the level of insurance coverage available to the farmer in future years. By excluding unusually bad years, farmers will not have to worry that a natural disaster will reduce their insurance coverage for years to come.
Under the new Farm Bill program, yields can be excluded from farm actual production history when the county average yield for that crop year is at least 50% below the 10 previous consecutive crop years’ average yield.
For more information, please view the full release here.
South Texas Cattle Program Could Reflect
Growing Herd Numbers
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service personnel are hoping that with recent rains and improved pastures, South Texas cattle ranchers will start rebuilding herds sold off during the drought.
Cattle will be accepted soon for the annual AgriLife Extension Bull Gains Test, Heifer Development and Pen of Steers Program.
Proof of renewed activity could come when ranchers start submitting their livestock in the annual Bull Gains Test, Heifer Development and Pen of Steers Program later this month.
The program is designed to feed cattle at a feedlot while documenting their weight gain and other important traits, according to Ronnie Zamora, a Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program agent in Willacy County.
“When we started this program 16 years ago, we had 80 to 90 bulls in the program,” Zamora said. “But lately, we’ve only been getting 40 to 50 bulls. The drought really decreased our numbers, but with good rains and greener pastures, we could see an increase this year.”
The first date to submit bulls and heifers in breeding programs is Oct. 23. The first date to accept “pen of steers,” or livestock destined for the beef market, is Nov. 14.
The AgriLife Extension livestock program, in association with Prairie View A&M and other organizations, is designed to improve livestock for both breeding performance and beef quality, Zamora said.
“Once the livestock enters the Rio Beef Feedyard, located between Lynn/San Manuel and Raymondville, they are put on a 112-day feeding program based on their weight,” Zamora said. “They are evaluated at entry, midway through the program and at the end.”
Measurements of bulls include ribeye size, scrotal circumference, marbling score, pelvic area, frame size and body conditioning, he said. Heifers are evaluated on reproductive tract scores.
“This program is of great advantage to cattle ranchers because they save on feed costs,” Zamora said. “They also get their livestock evaluated, which is documented from a respected, unbiased university system.”
Javier Moreno of La Negra Cattle Co. in Edinburg and a longtime participant, said the program offers producers many advantages.
“I can develop my bulls and heifers through this program for half the feed cost, plus I get real good use of the performance data,” he said.
Program participation includes evaluations of the cattle, some of which are done by experts using sonogram equipment.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.