Cattle Industry to Host COOL Summit on November 18

BILLINGS, MT (November 12, 2003)  Representatives from the nation’s national, regional, state, and county cattle associations, representing U.S. live cattle producers, have been invited to meet in Denver, Colorado, on November 18, 2003, to discuss alternative methods for determining and verifying the origins of live cattle within the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) rules.  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued proposed rules on COOL on October 30, 2003, giving the industry and the public 60 days to provide comments before the final COOL rules are written.

The proposed COOL rules state that industry participants are to determine the record keeping information transfer mechanisms needed to transfer origin information from one level of the supply chain to the next.  “This means the live cattle industry now has a responsibility and an opportunity to develop an acceptable method to accurately transfer origin information from the live cattle industry to the packing industry,” said Leo McDonnell, President of R-CALF USA, adding, “This is the single most important issue to live cattle producers who are asking ‘what do I need to do in order to comply with COOL?’”

McDonnell said the Summit participants will be solution driven and will work to develop alternative approaches for efficiently identifying live animals as to their origin.  “Our goal will be to develop a method that does not place an unnecessary burden on live cattle producers; that can be accomplished with the least amount of cost to the industry; and that does not subject U.S. producers to unnecessary conditions imposed by meatpackers,” he said.

R-CALF USA extended invitations on November 10, 2003, to all U.S. national, regional, state, and many county cattle associations including such COOL opponents as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Kansas Livestock Association, and the Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association.  “COOL is now the law and despite our differences over the merits of COOL, we have a responsibility to work with all industry associations to develop the best possible implementation rules for our respective cattle producing members,” said McDonnell.  

McDonnell said the COOL Summit is needed to allow all cattle associations to explore the various alternatives available for verifying the origins of live animals and then to work to present a unified industry recommendation to USDA within the pending 60-day comment period.  “On an issue as important as this, U.S. cattle producers deserve cattle associations that can set aside differences in order to work for the common good of the industry and this is what we will do on November 18,” McDonnell said.