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House agrees on natural-beef bill
By GWEN FLORIO
Great Falls Tribune Capitol Bureau
March 27, 2007
Montana (MT), US
HELENA — Holy cow! (Well, beef.)
The Montana House of Representatives, which has been fighting for weeks over the state budget, found bipartisan harmony Monday over Sen. Kim Hansen's move to create a marketing program for natural Montana beef.
"The consumer wants natural beef," said Rep. Llew Jones. "They are searching for it and willing to pay a premium."
Jones, a Conrad Republican, carried the bill in the House for Hansen, a Harlem Democrat.
Under provisions of the bill, the Department of Livestock would administer the program that qualifies beef as natural.
Natural beef comes from cattle that are grass-fed, or eat natural feed, Jones said. Growth hormones and certain antibiotics are forbidden. The requirements are not as stringent as for organic beef.
To qualify for the program, the cattle also must have been born, raised and finished in Montana.
Jones estimated that about 50 producers will participate in the program at first, a number that is expected to double every year until it reaches about 200. The program's cost would come from fees assessed those producers, according to the bill.
The bill, approved unanimously last month in the Senate, received initial approval in the House on Monday, 98-2. Two of the most fiscally conservative members of the House — Rep. Rick Jore, C-Ronan, and Rep. Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman — voted against it.
"I do believe these kinds of things should be promoted," Koopman said, "but through private organizations such as the cattlemen and the stock growers. ... We need to look for something other than government."
But Rep. Sue Dickenson, D-Great Falls, said she was happy to support the bill.
"I think anything we can do to encourage our local agricultural producers" is good, Dickenson said. "The more natural food is better. I'm very much in favor of this bill."
The bill faces a final vote today in the House before going to Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
To read the full text of Senate Bill 544, view
http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2007/billhtml/SB0544.htm
By GWEN FLORIO
Great Falls Tribune Capitol Bureau
March 27, 2007
Montana (MT), US
HELENA — Holy cow! (Well, beef.)
The Montana House of Representatives, which has been fighting for weeks over the state budget, found bipartisan harmony Monday over Sen. Kim Hansen's move to create a marketing program for natural Montana beef.
"The consumer wants natural beef," said Rep. Llew Jones. "They are searching for it and willing to pay a premium."
Jones, a Conrad Republican, carried the bill in the House for Hansen, a Harlem Democrat.
Under provisions of the bill, the Department of Livestock would administer the program that qualifies beef as natural.
Natural beef comes from cattle that are grass-fed, or eat natural feed, Jones said. Growth hormones and certain antibiotics are forbidden. The requirements are not as stringent as for organic beef.
To qualify for the program, the cattle also must have been born, raised and finished in Montana.
Jones estimated that about 50 producers will participate in the program at first, a number that is expected to double every year until it reaches about 200. The program's cost would come from fees assessed those producers, according to the bill.
The bill, approved unanimously last month in the Senate, received initial approval in the House on Monday, 98-2. Two of the most fiscally conservative members of the House — Rep. Rick Jore, C-Ronan, and Rep. Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman — voted against it.
"I do believe these kinds of things should be promoted," Koopman said, "but through private organizations such as the cattlemen and the stock growers. ... We need to look for something other than government."
But Rep. Sue Dickenson, D-Great Falls, said she was happy to support the bill.
"I think anything we can do to encourage our local agricultural producers" is good, Dickenson said. "The more natural food is better. I'm very much in favor of this bill."
The bill faces a final vote today in the House before going to Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
To read the full text of Senate Bill 544, view
http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2007/billhtml/SB0544.htm