Sunday, October 25, 2015

The Farm Bill: Country of Origin Labeling or COOL

Country of Origin Labeling, also known as COOL. A little known sector of the Farm Bill, which has high favor in the eyes of most consumers, but is highly disliked by livestock producers. What is COOL?
“Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is a labeling law that requires retailers, such as full-line grocery stores, supermarkets and club warehouse stores, to notify their customers with information regarding the source of certain foods. Food products covered by the law include muscle cut and ground meats: beef, veal, pork, lamb, goat, and chicken; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts; and ginseng.” (Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), Web.)
COOL is found under the “Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946,” found in subtitle “D” of the U.S. Farm Bill. The bill for COOL, was passed on May 1, 2002. Regulations specified were issued September 30, 2002 and was supposed to go into effect for all commodities specified by September 30, 2004. (Agricultural Marketing Act, Subtitle D) What the purpose of the two year delay was supposed to do, was to allow the government to apply all regulations of COOL, to their entirety by 2004. What the government was trying to accomplish in those two years was requiring all producers of specified COOL commodities, to have detailed records and knowledge of where their products had been grown, raised, processed, and harvested.
What ended up happening was that companies, and small operations were having a hard time meeting all the requirements the government had issued. Because of this, the Farm Bill was once again amended in 2004, to allow all commodities under the act, besides fish and shellfish, to have until September 30, 2008, to meet all requirements.
Yet again another problem arose, Mexico, and Canada, took the new requirements of COOL, to the World Trade Organization or WTO. The main problems Mexico and Canada, had with COOL, is that they felt it caused discrimination to the products sold to the USA, by their countries. WTO, sided against the US in this instance and COOL, was once again amended in 2013.
Yet again, the new regulations of COOL, caused problems primarily with livestock producers. ‘“National Cattlemens’ Beef Association president Scott George said in a teleconference that COOL – which requires labels on meat indicating where the originating animal was born, raised and slaughtered – creates a multitude of problems for livestock producers. The most significant, George said, “is the threat of trade retaliation from Canada and Mexico.”’ (Farm Futures, Web.)
In conclusion, Country of Origin Labeling, went through congress again on May 29, 2015, and the vote repealed requirements of COOL for beef, pork, and chicken. Although it is no longer required for these producers to provide the detailed documents, many producers will still continue to provide the origins of their products. Many companies are being established that are not part of the Farm Bill, and will give consumers the information they want to know.


"Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)." Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
"Country of Origin Labeling Creates Sticky Situation for Livestock Interests." - Farm Futures. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
"H.R.2393 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015." H.R.2393. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. 

Sunday, October 11, 2015

A Stitch in Time, Saves Nine.

Coming from a long line of farmers, my family has many “wives tales,” or farm folklore sayings that appear in all sorts of circumstances. What do I mean by “wives tales?” Old sayings that don’t have any scientific backing to them but have been handed down from generation to generation as wisdom and truths. I would love to cover all my favorite “wives tales,” but I will spare you all the boredom and just cover one that has a lot more meaning to it than meets the ear.
“A stitch in time, saves nine.” Back when farming first started, farmers relied on horses, mules, and oxen to pull their equipment and work the land. Harnesses made of leather were used to attach an animal to the desired piece of equipment. Those harnesses took one heck of beating. Between being in the sun all day, to being soaked in animal sweat, the leather would crack and the stitching would rot. My Great Grandpa was very meticulous on checking all his harnesses before and after working to make sure they were in proper working order. If he found a stitch coming lose, or one that was rotting, he would take the time to re-stitch it before anything else was done. He would just say to my Grandma, “A stitch in time saves nine.” By fixing that one small damaged stitch, my Great Grandpa, was able to keep his harnesses in working condition and he was able to keep working his fields by not being holed up with a rotted and falling apart leather harness.
The phrase may have been primarily used for farming and fixing harnesses, but it is also a very insightful phrase. The stitch, can be used to describe any problem, trivial or major. By taking the time to fix the problem when it first starts to appear, you save more time in the long run by not having to fix an even bigger and nastier mess. When it comes to farming, it really pays off to fix the tractors and equipment when a problems fist shows up, rather than wait and see how much worse it can get. You can even apply the phrase to family and friends. Don’t wait to help someone you know needs help. Don’t wait to tell your family how much you care. By doing it now, you save a lot of heartache and lost memories. Or in other words, “A stitch in time, saves nine.”


Although I wish this was a picture of my Great Grandpa, sadly it is not. But I imagine that he had a similar outfit and leather harnesses.


Walters, Claire. “Horse and Plow” Photograph. Webshot. "History of Plows." Gene and Matt Tractor Sales. Gene and Matt Tractor Sales. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. <www.geneandmatttractorsales.com/historyofplows.php>.