On September
30, 2008, Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) goes into effect as
federal
law. Under
COOL all livestock must have their origin (USA, USA and/or Canadian,
USA and/or
Mexican, etc.) declared before the animals are sold. As a livestock
producer
this will mean
that you will need to sign an affidavit or origin declaration when you
market your
animals.
To simplify this process, we are asking that you sign a Continuous
Origin Affidavit. This
affidavit
allows you to declare the origin of all livestock that you sell and is
valid until you
revoke or
change the affidavit in writing. In other words, if all the livestock
that you sell
are of USA
origin you will only need to sign this Continuous Origin affidavit
once, we will
keep the
record on file and it will automatically declare the origin of all
livestock that you sell
until you have
revoked the affidavit or changed it. You will sign only one affidavit
and only one time.
It will be important that you, the owner or person with first hand
knowledge about the
livestock
being marketed, sign the affidavit. We will not be able to accept an
affidavit signed
by a trucker
or transporter.
For those purchasing livestock, we will provide an origin declaration
on your buyer
invoice or
load out documents declaring the origin of the livestock listed in
that
transaction.
It is very important that you collect a similar declaration from whom
ever
you purchase
livestock and you should keep these documents on file for at least one
year from
the purchase
date. The burden for collecting affidavits will be on the buyers, so
make sure you
get them as
you purchase cattle, hogs, or sheep.
Please let us know if you have any questions on C.O.O.L. If we are
unable to answer your
questions we will put you in contact with
someone that can. No records are collected or
information shared. With
the system we have in place, C.O.O.L. will be painless and
effortless
for the
friends and partners here at Spencer Livestock. Thanks for your
business!
Morris Larson
