From Washington with Karina Jones is brought to you by BillionAuto.com one of the nation’s largest automotive websites!
Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills, Field Director for R-CalfUSA and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
And now the NEW VOICE of Farm & Ranch Country, Karina Jones –
Good day everyone in farm and ranch country! I have been deeply entrenched in cattle industry policy conversations last week at the annual R-CALF convention. Infact, last week on From Washington you heard part of my interview with Zach Ducheneaux, USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator, now you can catch my full video interview with him on the Your Ag Network app, website, and social media platforms.
While at R-CALF Convention, I was also able to catch up with US House of Representatives member Harriet Hageman, the lone House delegate from the Cowboy State of Wyoming. Representative Hageman was eager to tell me about a new bill that she just introduced in the House Ag Committee, the Country-of-Origin Labeling Enforcement Act. This bill would immediately implement MCOOL throwing no caution to the WTO, but instead standing for our nation’s sovereignty and declaring that we will label our meat as we would like to regardless of what anyone else says. At last count this bill has quickly collected a roster of 7 co-sponsors from Hawaii to the eastern seaboard, mostly representing beef consumer constituents. Representative Hageman is a bulldog on standing for freedom and justice for the American cattle rancher and consumer! You can check out that full text of that bill by googling HR 5081. Furthermore, you can catch my full interview with Representative Hageman once again on the Your Ag Network, app, website, and social media platforms. In that interview she also shares details of an additional bill she introduced that would protect the rights of cattle producers from USDA over reach and maintain their freedom of choice to use whatever identification method they choose.
Representative Hageman is not the only one that launched an MCOOL bill in the House recently. Representative Dusty Johnson, from South Dakota, took a shot at a solution for labeling beef as well in his freshly introduced bill “Consumers don’t know where their beef comes from. It could be South Dakota, Brazil, or Canada,” said Johnson. “U.S. producers raise better beef, and they’re not getting the credit for it. My bill takes a step in the right direction to get accurate labels back on these products to increase consumer confidence in American-made and grown products.”
The Beef Origin Labeling Accountability Act:
- Directs the United States Trade Representative and Secretary of Agriculture to work together to determine a process of reinstating Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef that is compliant with World Trade Organization rules.
- Requires the two agencies report to Congress on their progress in determining a trade-compliant means of MCOOL, including any recommendations for legislation that may be necessary and any engagement with international governments on the matter.
- Directs the USTR to enter into consultations with the Canadian and Mexican governments to resolve the outstanding MCOOL trade disputes the two countries have open against the U.S.
This bill is HR 5215 and has been introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee.
This new flurry of activity puts MCOOL squarely in the spotlight during a critical Farm Bill period. With 3 bills on the table between the House and Senate with widespread bi-partisan support, there is no doubt that DC will be forced to confront this issue that the people keep demanding attention for!
Join me right back here next week as I bring you more ag news from our nation’s capital.
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Tune in Fridays on The Hot Barn Report, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and highlights industry reforms or listen to Ranch Raised with Karina Jones a slice of daily life on the Jones Ranch.
