Wyoming cattle ranchers stand behind the effort of a South Dakota Republican to narrow the use of “Product of the USA” labels to beef derived from cattle born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.
But they aren’t fans of his push for mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, saying instead that should be voluntary.
Mike Rounds introduced the USA Beef Act last week, which passed the U.S. House on Monday.
It seeks to make permanent a 2024 Department of Agriculture rule that could be revoked by future administrations. That could include a Democratic administration wanting to combat climate change by limiting the production of beef from methane-producing cattle.
Rounds said he applauded the department’s 2024 rule, and wants to make it more permanent.
“This has been a big step forward in consumer transparency and gives our American ranchers the upper hand to compete with lower-quality foreign beef that used to falsely bear the same label,” Rounds said in a statement. “My legislation would make these changes permanent and make certain that the rule stays in place for years to come.”
What Do Wyoming Ranchers Say?
The Wyoming Stock Growers Association worked hard to get the current rule adopted last year, Executive Vice President Jim Magagna told Cowboy State Daily.
Before the USDA adopted the rule, some beef products were imported into the country, processed and given a “Product of the USA” label, he said.
Only beef from cattle born, raised, fed and slaughtered in the U.S. should be USA beef, said third-generation Niobrara County rancher Kevin Baars, who’s also Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation board member.
The federation also supports the bill, Executive Vice President Kerin Clark told Cowboy State Daily.
“Our members here in Wyoming feel very strongly and have passed policy supporting the Product of the USA and Made in the USA labels,” Clark said.
Cheyenne rancher Mark Eisele, past president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said he appreciates the intent behind the bill.
Country-of-origin labeling and protecting US beef producers has been a recurring theme with federal and state officials.
In 2023, U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman sponsored a bill that, had it passed, would have prohibited beef sellers from passing off foreign beef as an American-made product.
Her Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act would have defined U.S. beef the same way the 2024 rule and Rounds’ bill. In her bill, anyone caught trying to pass off foreign beef as American could have been fined $5,000 a pound.
Yeah, But …
Rounds said his next priority will be establishing mandatory country of origin labeling for beef products.
Wyoming ranchers are opposed to that, Magagna said.
Ground beef bought in the United States includes both American and foreign beef, he added. Processors need to add leaner foreign meat to get the correct proportion for packaging.
Studies show that American consumers look for the “Product of the USA” label on beef products, Baars said. Consumers know American products have met rigorous testing and vaccination requirements.
Plus, some cattle born in border states like Montana may spend summers in Canada, Magagna said. Tracking that creates difficulties for ranchers and processors.
“Our concern is that if it's mandated, it's going to put a burden on the processors and the handlers, and they're going to pass that burden back down to us as producers in terms of what they're willing to buy or what they're willing to pay for it,” Magagna said. “And so, for that reason, we've not supported mandatory, but we would encourage to the extent that they can that they would utilize this voluntary label.”
Eisele said his concern is tracking will take away from ranchers’ ability to produce the beef their customers want.
Matthew Christian can be reached at matthew@cowboystatedaily.com.
