FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 5, 2008—Cattle raisers now have forms available for download to help them easily fulfill their part of the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law that goes into effect at the end of this month.
COOL is a USDA marketing program mandated by the 2002 Farm Bill which requires retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of beef (including veal), goat meat, lamb, pork, poultry, fish and other perishable agricultural commodities.
Leaders of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) participated with more than 30 livestock industry organizations last week to develop affidavit forms that simply and efficiently fulfill the production segments' responsibilities under the COOL law. These forms may be downloaded from
the packers, processors and retailers, Means explains.
Equipped with that background knowledge, TSCRA representatives worked with national and state livestock groups, packers and processors to craft affidavits which will allow livestock producers to declare the origin of the cattle they are selling into the production chain, and satisfy the information needs of the beef production segments on the way to the retail meat case.
From the beginning of the national conversation about country-of-origin labeling it has been evident that, while livestock producers may not be directly regulated by COOL, they will be impacted by the law.
"For this reason, TSCRA leaders have made sure we've stayed at the COOL discussion tables for nearly a decade, representing the interests of TSCRA members and all cattle raisers," Means says.
The results of the national industry talks, held earlier this month and facilitated by the Livestock Marketing Association, can be found on the TSCRA Web site (click on the red Country-of-Origin Labeling button at
