George Wishon is an SCCA member who also acts as the Region 1 Director for R-CALF.
The Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association is starting 2020 by continuing their affiliation with the Ranchers and Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), a national grass roots cattlemen’s group fighting for ranch families.
R-CALF was founded in 1998 when three independent cattle producers launched an anti-dumping lawsuit against Canada and Mexico, accusing them of exporting their products below market prices and production costs in the US. The group successfully convinced the U.S. Dept. of Commerce to implement anti-dumping tariffs against Canada.
R-CALF represents U.S. cattle and sheep producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues and has a membership of more than 5,000 cow-calf producers, cattle backgrounders, and feeders.
SCCA member George Wishon serves as the R-CALF Region 1 Director, representing members in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. SCCA and R-CALF began their formal affiliation in 2018.
SCCA President Scott Nielsen said the group has chosen to continue their affiliation with R-CALF based on the group’s strong advocacy for U.S. producers.
“Over the last year, R-CALF has continued to fight against unfair trade policies, market manipulation and government regulations. It’s a group working to bring government policies and agreements back on the side of U.S. cattle producers,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen noted R-CALF has continued to be a strong advocate for reinstating Country of Origin (COOL) labeling for meat products so consumers can make informed choices.
“Consumers have the right to know where their steak and hamburger is from and that can’t be done without clear, accurate labeling,” Nielsen said.
COOL was passed by Congress in 2002 and, for a time, products in the grocery store meat case were accurately labeled to show what country the meat came from. But due to trade agreement related lawsuits from Mexico and Canada, Congress repealed the labeling regulations for beef and pork in 2016.
Working with R-CALF to solve COOL and other issues helps SCCA join a nationwide effort to support and protect America’s ranch families.
“We are proud to be working with R-CALF and look forward to sharing more wins for cattle producers with them in the future,” Nielsen related. For more information about SCCA, visit www.stevenscountycattlemen.com
Stevens County Cattlemen's Association 