It seems that congress is finally ready to address and take action on the Farm Bill. Unfortunately, it seems that both parties are not including mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for beef and pork. Studies have shown that COOL leads to higher prices for American cow-calf producers. The beef market is controlled by four large packer corporations, who are lobbying Congress to maintain their control and continue making record profits by mixing foreign meat with American meat. This has resulted in wholesale and retail beef prices increasing without benefiting the farmers. The gap between prices and value to farmers has widened since the repeal of COOL in 2015.
If family farms and ranches are to survive in this country, producers need to make a reasonable profit. Otherwise, land will continue to be sold to the wealthy for other purposes, leading to irreparable harm to rural communities. COOL is one way to help ranchers remain viable. Three out of four Montana congressional representatives do not support COOL. Please urge them to stand for no farm bill without COOL and sign the petition https://northernplains.org/campaign/support-cool-2024/. A strong agricultural economy benefits everyone.
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