Meat-labeling law opposed

PASCO, Wash. — Cody Easterday estimates that some 25 percent of the cattle at his 30,000-head feedlot come from Canada, with maybe a few cattle from Mexico in the pens.

But weeks after the government began requiring producers to label beef with the country the animals came from, Easterday estimates he’s already getting lower prices for that foreign beef — as much as $30 per head.

It’s just one reason he’s suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to rewrite the beef labeling provision in what could be one of several attempts to overturn a law long sought by consumer and farm groups.

“It’s a flawed law that’s going to cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars,” Easterday said.

The new law, required by the 2008 Farm Bill, went into effect Sept. 30. It requires grocery stores to identify the “country of origin” for meat, produce and certain nuts. Retailers have six months to fully comply before the USDA will begin enforcement.

In the lawsuit filed last month in U.S. District Court, Easterday Ranches Inc. contends that labeling will increase record keeping and operating costs and deter meat packers from buying Canadian-born cattle from Easterday’s feedlot.

The Agriculture Department declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.