Dusty Johnson: “I am a bit confounded. I have to admit that some of the great concerns expressed about country-of-origin labeling for…”

“I am a bit confounded. I have to admit that some of the great concerns expressed about country-of-origin labeling for meat are being raised at a time when USDA has not yet issued a final statement about what the regulations are even going to be. The USDA has considerable discretion, based on the legislation that passed this body and is now part of the farm bill. So a lot of this frenzy going on is about final regulations that are not yet in place. Let me add that we are soon going to see Senator Daschle offer an amendment, a sense-of-the-Senate amendment, relative to country-of-origin labeling that the Senate conferees sought to stay with the Senate approach and reject the House approach to delay implementation. That effort on the part of Senator Daschle, joined by our Republican colleague, Senator Enzi of Wyoming, and myself, is supported by some 135 agricultural organizations, as Senator Reid has noted, including, I say to my friend and colleague from Missouri, Missouri Farmers Union, Missouri National Farmers Organization, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, and the Missouri Stockgrowers Association, not to mention the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union. So from the left to the right, across the entire spectrum of agricultural and rural organizations, there is overwhelming support transcending party-line differences in support of this amendment that is going to be offered by Senator Daschle.”