Four months ago, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service added beef products under COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) regulations. You might have wondering how you, as one of the first steps in the beef production chain, are affected by new retail packaging requirements.
COOL does not place producers under direct regulation, but you are required to provide records and information to further handlers who will be regulated, like packers and retailers.
Any time you sell cattle, you must include a signed producer affidavit detailing the country of origin for all cattle involved in the transaction. The NCBA (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) has released a recommended standardized producer affidavit, available for download here.
When you purchase cattle, you must be sure to receive an affidavit from the seller so you will have records documenting their origin. Then, you should keep these records on file for a minimum of one year following each transaction.
You might need to evaluate your cattle record keeping system to make sure you can maintain origin and transaction records on your cattle for this extended time period. If you have good records on individual animals to verify their country of origin, you will not have to keep the paper affidavits in a filing cabinet – and less paper is something we could all do without.
You can read more about COOL regulations and requirements at the AMS COOL webpage, including the in-depth Interim Final Rule. There is also producer-specific information available, like this brochure highlighting important points for you.
If you have any further questions on how your cattle records are affected, be sure to contact us, or leave a comment.
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