Cattlemen's Group: USDA Targeting Small Meat Plants

But Dennis McDonald, president of the Montana Cattlemen's Association and chairman of the state Democratic Party, calls the timing of that action and enforcement at other plants "disturbing." He suggests they may be tied to efforts by cattle producers in Montana to block the federal government's resumption of cattle trade with Canada, a country that has confirmed three cases of mad cow disease since May 2003. McDonald also is a member of R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America. "If you line up the dots, it's pretty obvious what's happened," McDonald says. The Montana Cattlemen's Association claims USDA is targeting small plants for "enforcement actions or suspension of operations" that would lead to closure. Eamich says the allegations are groundless. She says that in the past 60 days, federal officials took action against two plants in the state and that each plant's owners were informed of their rights - including their rights to appeal. Targeted Gary Wold, who owns Ranchland Pack- ing, says he think he was targeted, but doesn't know why. He acknowledges mice droppings and cobwebs were found in his facility, but says they were not in places where any processing work was done. He says some droppings were found in a corner of a cooler where meat was kept. He notes that in more than 30 years of business, he's never had a food safety violation and believes he has taken adequate steps to address USDA's concerns. The Montana Livestock Department says Montana has 29 federally inspected slaughter and/or processing plants, many of them very small. Each facility needs a federal inspector on hand to monitor the work. Rick Parks, an investigator for the Government Accountability Project, a private organization that represents "whistleblowers," says he has been working the past two years with small, federally inspected plants in the state who believe they have been targeted or held to a higher standards than larger plants. GAP is representing John Munsell, a former Miles City, Mont., meat processor who has sued USDA for allegedly retaliating against him for criticizing its food protection efforts. Parks says he believes there is credence to the assertions of the Montana Cattlemen's Association. "It does appear on the surface that USDA has an ax to grind with Montana, and they're doing the best they can to sharpen it up," he says. However, he only can speculate on the possible reasons. http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/12385343.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

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