Meat + Poultry - January 2004 - 10

N.C.B.A. pushing for COOL change
Awaiting Senate approval, provisions in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill could delay the implementation of mandatory country-oforigin labeling until September 2006. Meanwhile, producer members of the Denver-based National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Country of Origin Labeling
Task Force have begun developing an alternative, producer-controlled program that would be voluntary.
The task force, which is made up of representatives from all industry segments, outlined its initial
steps this past month. The initial actions the group agreed to take
include: Cooperating with representatives from the food industry
to develop pilot projects for COOL using existing U.S.D.A. guidelines; and conducting consumer market research to identify ben-

cally beneficial to producers and whether consumers perceive COOL
to be an added value.
"We think it's important that we have a better handle
on what country of origin means as a brand attribute,"
McAdams said in a teleconference announcing the
plan. "We think it's important that we know how COOL
can be used as a tool to differentiate U.S. product."
Jay Truitt, executive director of legislative affairs with
N.C.B.A., says the organization has been working to
make the COOL issue beneficial to producers since 1997.
"The time is now for us to begin working on a program that producers maintain as much control as possible and that we were able to fix
the level of participation," he said.

We think it's important that we know how COOL can be used as a tool to differentiate
U.S. product.
efits to producers and consumers. The final plan will be presented
to cattlemen at the Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Phoenix,
Jan. 28-31.
Jim McAdams, N.C.B.A. vice president and chairman of the task
force, says the legislative delay is a fortuitous development as his organization scrambles to develop an alternative. "We're grateful," he
says, "because it allows us to continue working on developing a voluntary program."
The task force hopes to ascertain if the program will be economi-

N.C.B.A. members, with a few exceptions, are supportive of COOL
as a marketing tool as long as it is implemented on a voluntary basis. Under a voluntary plan, U.S. beef would be labeled as opposed
to the proposed mandatory law that would require U.S. and non-U.S.
beef carry a label.
McAdams said, "We think voluntary is the way to go, but we will
abide by the law and we need to figure out how to best implement
either the current law or how to fix the law to meet the objectives of
benefiting both producers and consumers."

Market conditions improve for
Sanderson Farms

Excel selling Sterling Silver
Premium meats on the Web

Sanderson Farms, Inc., Laurel, Miss., saw its fiscal 2003 sales increase 17.3 percent to $872.2 million. The company reported a net
income of $54.1 million for fiscal 2003 compared to $28.8 million for
fiscal 2002.
"Sanderson Farms continued to demonstrate solid execution in the fourth quarter
of fiscal 2003, capping off an outstanding
year," said Joe F. Sanderson, Jr., president and chief executive officer. "Earnings for both our fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Oct.
31, 2003, set records and reflect the continued overall improvement
in the chicken market compared with conditions a year ago."
According to Sanderson, market prices for all poultry products
were higher during the fourth quarter than in the prior-year period. As
measured by a simple average of the Georgia dock price for whole
chickens, prices increased approximately 7.8 percent in the company's fourth fiscal quarter compared with the same period in 2002.
Boneless breast meat prices during the quarter were approximately 26.5 percent higher than the prior-year period and were up
17.2 percent for the year. Bulk leg quarter prices increased approximately 67.4 percent during the quarter and were up 12.8 percent for
the year.

In early December, Sterling Silver
Premium Meats
started selling its
beef, pork and turkey products on its
Web site. "We're
simply responding to the market demand," said
John Niemann, brand manager for Sterling Silver Premium Meats.
"When you discover a great product, you want to share it with your
friends and families. We have received lots of calls from customers
who either couldn't buy our Sterling Silver Premium Meats where
they lived or wanted to send our products to friends or family members in other states."
Buying food on the Internet is a trend that is steadily growing. Forrester Research, Inc., estimates food and beverage sales on the Internet will total $3.7 billion this year, up more than 40 percent from the
year before. The Web site address is www.SterlingSilverMeats.com.

MEAT&POULTRY

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JANUARY 2004

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Meat + Poultry - January 2004

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