February 23, 2012

John Masswohl Discusses Future of COOL

john masswohl

The World Trade Organization’s ruling on the country of origin labelling (COOL) legislation brought some small sense of victory to the Canadian beef industry. The excitement over that victory was short-lived however as producers realized that any tangible results stemming from that ruling would be a long way off. The potential for an appeal by [...]

WTO Decision on COOL Good For Canadian Livestock Producers

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With the recent ruling by the World Trade Organization declaring elements of the U.S. Country Of Origin Labelling program to be unfair, Canadian livestock producers feel that the first steps have been made in restoring exports lost when the program began. While Canadian producers applaud the move, there is an underlying skepticism that this decision [...]

Beef Market Update: WTO Rules in Favor of Canada on COOL

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The major story on every beef industry radar was last weeks WTO ruling in favour of Canada with regard to the U.S. Country Of Origin Labelling legislation. The resulting effect on the market……meh. The fact is, the entire industry is awaiting the U.S. appeal and the looong drawn out process to begin again. It’s a [...]

NCBA10 – Beef Market Update – Anne Dunford Wraps Up the NCBA 2010 Convention

By most accounts the 2010 NCBA convention in San Antonio was a huge success.  This was my first NCBA meeting so it is fitting that we talked to Anne Dunford a wily veteran of the NCBA festivities.  Anne wrapped up the week and talked about what she thought were the major things to be pulled [...]

NCBA10 – Canada’s WTO Challenge of COOL with John Masswohl

Canada and Mexico have taken the issue of country of origin labelling (COOL) to the World Trade Organization (WTO).  We are basically one year into the implementation of COOL and the financial impact is severe.  The impact on the Canada and Mexico livestock markets has been very hurtful. The interesting thing that I found at [...]

NCBA10 – The Economic State of the Cattle Business – Gregg Doud

One of  the great things about attending the NCBA convention is that you get a chance to hear what some of the NCBA analysts an staff have to say about the industry.  I was very fortunate to get a chance to talk with Gregg Doud. Gregg Doud is the Chief Economist at the National Cattlemans [...]

Questions from Ranchers and Cattle Feeders – Gordon Cove, CEO of ALMA

This is part two of my interview with the President and CEO of the Alberta Livestock Meat Agency (ALMA), Gordon Cove.  In this interview I asked questions provided to me by producers.  I gathered questions from Twitter and Agriville and asked them in no particular order to Mr. Cove.  I would suggest that many people at the [...]

ILC 2009: Dennis Laycraft VP at CCA – The Future Realities of MCOOL

At the International Livestock Congress, I spoke to Dennis Laycraft, Executive Vice President with the Canadian Cattlemans Association about the future realities of MCOOL. Many livestock producers on both sides of the border are very curious at to what will be the impact of this legislation. I have heard several Americans call MCOOL not food [...]

ILC 2009: Dennis Laycraft – VP at CCA – The History of MCOOL

MCOOL has become a reality for the US, Canadian and beef industry.  Sometimes it is beneficial to better understand an issue or situation by stepping back and examining how we got here.  I asked Dennis Laycraft of the Canadian Cattleman’s Association at the International Livestock Congress to provide me with a history of the MCOOL legislation and what could [...]

Getting the Youth in the Beef Industry Politically Involved is Important

While the demographics of farmers and ranchers generally follow an aging trend, there are still many young people getting, and staying, involved in the livestock industry. A prime example is a new group I have the privilege of helping to develop between the US and Canada. The Canada/US Young Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Forum is [...]