Manitoba Pork Encouraged by Proposed Changes to U.S. Mandatory COOL

Dec 17, 2015

By Bruce Cochrane

The general manager of Manitoba Pork says, if passed, an amendment included in a U.S. funding bill will resolve the dispute over U.S. Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling.

Yesterday the Chair the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, announced the inclusion of repeal of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef and pork in the year-end funding bill currently awaiting a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Manitoba Pork general manager Andrew Dickson says, this is a very important development.

Yesterday the Chair the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, announce the inclusion of mandatory Country of Origin Labeling repeal in the year-end funding bill, currently awaiting a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Manitoba Pork general manager Andrew Dickson says, this is a very important development.

Andrew Dickson-Manitoba Pork:
The wording that we've seen would indicate that essentially the legislation would be gutted for this particular aspect of Country of Origin Labelling and it meets the request that we've been making for many many years now to try and get this legislation fixed.

Congress knows that this Friday Canada and Mexico will be completing the WTO process in Geneva and getting authority to impose substantial retaliatory measures against the United States.
I think minds are focused in Congress on that.

They realize that any retaliatory measures will be extremely disruptive to the American economy with its 2 major trading partners and they're doing everything to try to avoid that scenario.

I should also point out that we're also encouraging the government of Canada to continue with the WTO process, complete it so that it does have the authority to impose retaliatory measures and, if the COOL legislation passes and the regulation gets changed, then there's no need to exercise that authority but it's like holding an arrow in the quiver and we have encouraged them to retain that authority.

Dickson says the process is not completed so there is still some apprehension but, if things progress as we hope, by the end of next week we could see COOL removed from the law books.

Source: Farmscape

Video: FLEECED! Sheep Shearer Hands Over Clippers!

It's sheep shearing day at Ewetopia Farms! ?? Our Dorset lambs and ewes are getting fleeced — and for the first time, our shearer hands over his clippers to a beginner. We finish shearing the last of our adult ewes and this year’s Dorset ewe lambs.

From moving the sheep between barns, loading them into chutes, and watching the wool come off, this is always one of the most satisfying days on the farm. But this video has a twist — we welcomed a new helper, Gian, who’s not only lending a hand but also learning how to shear! With guidance from our experienced shearer, he got a crash course in sheep shearing and even tried his hand at shearing a couple of lambs himself.

You’ll see firsthand how both teacher and student handled this unique challenge. Shearing is more than just removing wool — it’s about sheep health, comfort, and giving us a closer look at the flock. It’s always amazing to see the transformation from woolly sheep to freshly shorn ewes and lambs.