COOL Perspective

JBS' Five Rivers Cattle Feeding President and CEO Mike Thoren was one of the speakers at McLean Ranch's Customer Appreciation Day. Five Rivers Cattle Feeding is largest group of feedlots in North America -- with a feeding capacity of 965,000 head at 12 different feedlots across the continent.

Thoren and I visited about Country of Origin Labeling or COOL which went into affect in late November. Although there is controversy among different segments of the beef industry, he says

Thoren: "I think COOL is bad situation for the U.s industry and the U.S. consumer. I'm not sure that the way it is labeled that it means anything to anybody. And I think that we ought to really look at this industry as a North American industry -- we are all in this together -- our partners in the south and the north. We need to work together to have the strongest beef industry. Make all the industry -- the feedlots the ranches work well together and to secure a consistent supply of cattle."

Speaking of consistent supply, Tyson announced in late October that it would stop purchasing Canadian cattle to be shipped directly to their processing plants citing that the Country of Origin Labeling or COOL would cause higher expenses for their company.

Not shipping Canadian cattle directly to their processing plants especially affects our region. Thoren says

Thoren: "When you get in regional areas -- it is a big deal. In the Pacific Northwest with two plants here and an industry that grew up dependent on that supply and the infrastructure built around it -- to take those cattle away is a big disruptive force."