In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD-At large) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) introduced a bipartisan bill to allow state-inspected meat to be sold across state lines, allowing for more direct marketing options.
The legislation, Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions (DIRECT) Act, would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act to allow processors, butchers, or other retailers to sell normal retail quantities of state-inspected meat online to consumers across state lines.
“Over the past few months, more Americans looked to e-commerce to purchase essential goods like beef and an already booming online marketplace further evolved to facilitate purchases and meet consumer demands,” said Marty Smith, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). “The American beef supply chain must evolve to keep up with the speed of commerce and the demands of modern-day consumers. NCBA supports the DIRECT Act because it helps make it easier for the American cattle producer to meet the growing demand of the American consumer to purchase safe and delicious U.S. beef.”
The DIRECT Act would allow new direct-to-consumer options; maintain traceability of sales in case of a recall; allow retail sales to consumers, “minimalizing the risk for further processing in export”; and allow states to operate under the Cooperative Interstate Shipping system to ship and label as they are currently.
“As a result of COVID-19, meat processing plants across the country have been forced to close or slow operations and as a result we’ve seen a renaissance in small processors,” said Johnson. “This bill cuts through red tape and allows producers, processors and retailers to sell state-inspected meat and poultry direct to consumers through online stores across state lines.”
Other industry groups also applauded the legislation, including American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), American Sheep Industry Association, and U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA).
“Small, state-inspected processors have filled the void for many producers this year when larger plants shut down,” said Scott VanderWal, vice president of AFBF.
Other COVID-19 support
NCBA and USCA have each written to Congress to ask for additional support for beef producers affected by the pandemic.
“While a good start, the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) cattle assistance payments must be improved upon and tailored to provide additional support to those in our industry who have been especially affected by market disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic,” NCBA wrote to Congress leaders.
The group specifically highlighted the cutoff date for the program, which was well before many producers incurred losses. NCBA also requested USDA open Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land for emergency haying and grazing, and remove the Nov. 1 deadline for harvesting and grazing prevented plant acreage cover crops.
NCBA noted the Heath and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act seeks to create 5 million new acres within the CRP program. “While appreciative of Congress’ recognition that cattle producers need additional grazing flexibility, NCBA opposes an increase in overall CRP acreage and asks that Congress allow haying and grazing on existing enrolled acres,” NCBA wrote.
The organization also wrote in support of the fed cattle set-aside program, to hold animals on maintenance rations to help reduce the backlog of slaughter cattle. NCBA also asked to waive overtime fees for federal meat inspectors, and shared their opposition to a mandated cash market.
USCA earlier wrote to ranking members of Congress, also requesting additional funding for beef producers. The group asked for the CFAP coverage dates to be extended to May 15 and for the program to cover actual losses without the $250,000 payment limit.
“USCA’s nationwide membership of cow-calf producers, backgrounders, feedlot operators, and livestock haulers have all seen drastic impacts on their bottom line due to market factors much beyond their control,” the letter concluded. — Anna Miller, WLJ editor
