R-CALF paints harsh picture for resident cattle producers

CAFTA, country of origin labeling included among topics of discussion

MOSES LAKE — It's been a long hard summer for the American cattle producer.

That was the prevailing message during a meeting held by the Cattle Producers of Washington Thursday evening in the conference room at the Moses Lake Fire Department.

About 42 people gathered to hear Leo McDonnell, president and founder of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), which represents cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues, talk about a wide range of issues presently facing the nation's cattle producers.

"There's nobody in here that can say the cattle industry is winning or is a growing industry," McDonnell said, attributing losses in the industry to disparities in markets and trade. At a time when total beef consumption has grown and other major beef-producing countries have maintained their cattle herds or grown, the industry in the United States has shrunken, he said.

Issues include the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which McDonnell called the latest in a line of liberal free trade agreements, following similar agreements with Australia and New Zealand. Next up will be the Andean Free Trade Agreement next spring, McDonnell said.

"Within the next two to three years, the U.S. cattle industry will be exposed to a major FTA with every major beef-producing country in the world," he said. "No industry in the United States has faced the amount of free trade exposure to competing products as you're getting ready to face if they're successful."

McDonnell added that those countries are high-producing countries, and there's not much in the way of beef consuming countries, like Japan, China, Korea and possibly even the European Union. In addition, U.S. cattle producers are locked out of many countries due to high tariffs.

McDonnell said that industry members need to take a look at the situation, be sure to get their issues on the table with government officials and ask to offset the trade distortions and level the playing field, maybe by getting rid of capital gains and keep tariff-rate quotas out of any more free-trade agreements until the rest of the world's tariffs come down to the nation's levels.

Another of R-CALF's tools to combat the commingled market is country of origin labeling, or COOL, which will be back in discussion this fall and is supposed to go into effect September 2006. Consumers believe that just because a product is labeled as having been inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it is from the United States, which is not the case, McDonnell said.

The notion is a fairly radical change in the way trade is addressed, he said, because it means the a rancher puts his name on the product and is responsible for the product "instead of hiding it in a commodity market where it's blended with everything else. That scares some people."

McDonnell also addressed the Ninth District Appellate Court's recent overturn of a decision to keep the border between the United States and Canada closed, thus keeping Canadian beef out of the U.S. market. The decision to overturn was made because the appellate court agreed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's science over R-CALF science, he said.

"What the appellate court said is that in points of dispute, the government is perceived as looking out for the best interest of the U.S. public and they will have deference over the private enterprise, scientist or whatever," he said. "If that don't scare the hell out of you, then I don't know what does, because they just rewrote the Constitution. This is no longer a government governed by the people, but a government governed by government agencies and bureaucracies."

But even with all of these issues, McDonnell concluded, great headway is being made.

"We're getting some nice changes on trade, if we can get over the fragmentation within this industry," he said. "The doors are starting to open up, but it's not for the weak of hearted … Even though it's a long process, at the end of the day, if you stay engaged, do things right and on the offensive, you can come out a winner."

Cattle Producers of Washington representative Mark Ellis said the Moses Lake meeting was one of four taking place across the state, including another in Colville tonight. Ellis explained that R-CALF was bringing people up to date on their work, and also talk about the recent allowance of a cow over 30 months old that made it across the Canadian border.

"The USDA has assured us that the firewalls are in place, and they've got it all in hand, but it proved that they didn't get it over," he said. "There's things R-CALF is doing to try to bring to attention and make USDA adhere to their policies that they made, which they can't and they won't."

McDonnell's presentation met with enthusiastic applause from those in attendance.

Ritzville resident Bob Schoessler said he wanted to hear what McDonnell had to see, and see if anything new was developing.

"I think it is absurd that people would not back and want to know where their food source comes from," he said. "(That is) the one thing the human body needs. You can wear a shirt from anywheres, and maybe you can eat food from anywheres, but you should be entitled to know where it's coming from."

R-CALF member Dick Moore came from Spokane to hear McDonnell.

"We just want to try and help keep making things better for the producers around," he said. "Support is the main thing. We're not very well organized for doing anything but helping out the guys that can do something."

Sprague resident Monte McPeak is also a member of R-CALF.

"We don't get Leo in our backyard every day, so we wanted to come listen to him," he said, adding that he thinks most consumers do believe a USDA- stamped product is from the U.S. "I think that's a huge deal in our industry. I'd like to have our consumers know that it can be from anywhere. We really are supportive of the COOL thing, because we have to do something to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world. I think as an American producer, we do a cleaner, better job than anybody in the world. Or as good as, or better."

R-CALF supporter, CPoW member and Royal City resident Bob Davis agreed with McPeak's assertions.

"The item about the meat in the grocery store case that you think as a consumer is from the U.S. because it says USDA, it could well have come from Argentina," he said.

Davis was pleased with the number of people in attendance.

"I'm happy to see so many people here," he said. "It's so important if it's your livelihood, and so many people don't pay attention."