Ranchers Go From Enemy to Ally, and Secretary Rollins’ Strong Support of MCOOL
Jack Payne and his sister Polly Baldwin.
By Jack Payne
Back in September a small group of Western ranchers who rely heavily on public land grazing met with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. At that initial meeting we discussed the struggles we face and the nessarry changes it will take to insure public land ranchers are able to do their part to rebuild the American cowherd and revitalize rural America.
Secretary Rollins and Secretary Burgum signing the Memorandum of Understanding between agencies.
Being in Washington DC yesterday to witness the Memorandum of Understanding signing between USDA and DOI was truly like a dream come true. Elections have consequences and what a breath of fresh air to hear Secretary Brooke Rollins and Secretary Doug Burgum address the small group of ranchers. We have gone from the enemy who must be removed from the land to an ally in national security and food sovereignty. My favorite moment of the entire day was hearing Secretary Brooke Rollins say she looked forward to a day when America would not need to import any beef, and she said MCOOL was a "black and white" issue and expressed her strong support for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling. I fully agree with Mrs Rollins and believe her statements on MCOOL are 100% correct. The Secretary did however acknowledge that implementation of MCOOL will require congressional action. As producers and consumers lets do our part to hold our congressmen/congresswoman accountable. We may not be able to make the big campaign donations NCBA and the packers do but we have the power of our vote.
Now that our government agencies are not weaponized against the food producers, we can roll up our sleeves and start using the abundant natural and renewable resources this great nation provides.
Thank you Secretary Brooke Rollins, Secretary Doug Burgum, Karen Budd Falen and all the hard working team at USDA and DOI. You guys are amazing and We look forward to working with you moving forward to ##MakeBeefGreatAgain.
Also special thanks to AJ Richards and Hayden Ballard for all that you do and for dragging me along on this journey. You guys are humble, smart and working for the right reasons, not to increase your piece of the pie, but to help all producers and consumers. I'm proud to be on your team. Special thanks to my sister Polly Payne Baldwin for making the trip with me to this special event. Mom and Dad had to have been smiling down yesterday. 40 years of weaponization of BLM, 40 years of writing letters, self monitoring the grasses, 40 years of attorney fees trying to hold grazing allotments together, 40 years of not giving up, 40 years of hoping and praying for a better day. That day was yesterday.
There's still much work to do but now we have a partner pulling in the same harness instead of a lazy mule trying to go back to the barn.
To read the details of the agreement click here:
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Jack Payne ranches in Nevada and Oregon, and owns and operates Nevada Livestock Market, in Fallon Nevada. Follow Jack on Facebook here, and Nevada Livestock Marketing here.
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