Thank you Wyoming Senators for meat bill

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o one gets into ranching because it’s easy or lucrative. Ranchers may be rich in a number of things, like fresh air, open space, hard work, callouses, and cattle dogs, but money isn’t one of them. Ranching is a lifestyle, a way of life. That being said, it would be nice to make ends meet so you can at least stay on the land and hopefully pass it on to your family. 
Being able to sell your product is a pretty important part of making that dream a reality. Limited markets mean limited income and limited opportunities. But open those markets up, and life seems a little brighter. That’s why the “New Markets for State-Inspected Meat & Poultry Act” is an important step in creating new markets for Wyoming’s livestock producers. This bill is sponsored by Senator Rounds of South Dakota, and we need to thank both of our Wyoming Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso for being co-sponsors. 
The way it stands now, unless we haul our cattle, sheep, or hogs to a USDA-inspected facility, we can’t sell our meat across state lines. Of course the irony of this is how many of us are forced to haul the livestock across state lines to an approved facility. Currently Wyoming’s only USDA-inspected meat processing facility is in Cody, and another is planned to open in Laramie in January 2020. This situation leaves many of us producers hauling livestock to Montana, South Dakota, or Colorado to be processed. Then we have to go back for the processed meat when it’s ready. It’s a costly way of doing business, plus those processing dollars are flowing directly out of the state. 
This legislation would change all that in a very common-sense manner. The bill would allow meat and poultry that has been inspected by state agencies with equal-to or stricter standards as USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to be sold across state lines. Wyoming is one of 27 states with such a program, and we have approximately 20 qualifying meat processing facilities in the state. That means these processing plants are much closer to where we live and raise our livestock. Not only will we save on transportation costs, but we’ll keep that money much closer to home and employ folks who live right here. It’s a win-win situation. 
This bill could be an economic driver for Wyoming’s ag industry by helping open up new markets for our Wyoming-raised meat, which is the best in the world, as well as supporting businesses in our communities and helping them grow. Be sure to tell Senators Enzi and Barrasso thank you for supporting this legislation. 
 
Liza Millett is a cattle rancher and member of Powder River Basin Resource Council.