National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson encouraged Congress to reauthorize the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act in a letter to Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. He also offered suggestions for making the price reporting data a more effective and usable tool for family farmers … Read More
House Ag Panel Hears COOL Testimony
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock & Foreign Agriculture held a hearing Wednesday to examine the implications of potential retaliatory measures taken against the United States in response to meat labeling requirements under Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) addressed the hearing and expressed his hope that the members of the subcommittee would “recognize … Read More
Seven Beef Checkoff Stakeholders Sign MOU
Seven of the eight stakeholder organizations represented in the Beef Checkoff Enhancement Working Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Friday proposing several changes in the checkoff. The groups that signed off on the proposal are the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American National CattleWomen, Inc., the Livestock Marketing Association, the Meat Import Council of America, the National Cattlemen’s Beef … Read More
NFU Pleased with COOL Lawsuit Dismissal
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson was pleased to see the U.S. District Court lawsuit on Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) dismissed on Monday. “This is a clear and indisputable win for American consumers and producers, and it’s a huge relief to know that common-sense labeling laws, like COOL, can prevail in court despite the deep pockets of the multinationals,” said … Read More
Young Dairy Leaders Honor NFU's Goule
A senior vice president for the National Farmers Union (NFU) has been named a distinguished alumnus by the Holstein Foundation for the 2015 Young Dairy Leaders Institute (YDLI). This news release from NFU says Chandler Goule is one of those recognized for notable contributions and skills gained during the YDLI experience for the betterment of the dairy industry. “YDLI was … Read More
NFU Calls for Ban on Imports from FMD Areas
The National Farmers Union wants the U.S. to stop importing meat from areas with Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). This news release says the group has submitted comments to the federal government asking that it not allow meat to come in from Northern Argentina and Uruguay because of ongoing concerns with FMD. “Livestock health is critical to production agriculture and … Read More
NFU Supports Beef Checkoff Modernization
News that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has dropped plans to pursue a second beef checkoff was disappointing to the National Farmers Union, which still would like to see changes in the current program. “NFU is very appreciative and supportive of the Secretary’s efforts to modernize the current beef checkoff program,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “The current system is badly … Read More
Farmers Union Submits Beef Checkoff Comments
The National Farmers Union (NFU) wants the Beef Checkoff to end its use of checkoff funds for political purposes. The call came as NFU President Roger Johnson submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging major and immediate changes to the current beef checkoff program, including a clear separation between any organization receiving checkoff funds and those that lobby. … Read More
Coalition Urges Congress to Reject COOL Changes
A coalition of 207 farm, faith, environmental, labor, rural and consumer organizations delivered a message this week to the Senate urging lawmakers to “reject any effort to repeal, rescind or weaken country of origin labeling (COOL) in any federal spending legislation.” “Congress needs to stay the course on COOL and leave it alone, especially now that the Obama administration has … Read More
General Farm Groups Views on 2nd Beef Checkoff
The two general farm organizations in the country have differing views about the proposal for a second beef checkoff. Chandler Goule with the National Farmers Union says they absolutely would like to get rid of the current 1985 beef check off and have a new one under the 1996 generic check off act. “If we would move to the ’96 … Read More