Farm Progress America, Dec. 26, 2024

Mike Pearson takes a look at the Deforestation regulations being implemented by the European Union Parliament.

The European Union parliament voted to postpone their implementation of the Deforestation regulation until December 2025.

This regulation requires beef importers to prove their cattle aren't raised on deforested acres.

For U.S. beef this means providing geolocation data of the where the cattle are raised.

This is a significant burden for U.S. cattle producers even though deforestation isn't a concern for USA cattle producers.

The regulation will essentially requires geolocations for properties where the cattle are raised.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation says it has a system in place to track the cattle who are raised under the non-hormone treated program but it doesn't include the details and documentation needed under the Deforestation regulations being considered.

Building compliance systems in one year is not enough time to get everything figured out but is hoping an exception can be made with a no-risk situation since the USA doesn't have the deforestation issue when it comes to raising cattle. Level the playing field and decrease the costs involved in developing the program needed ot give the details requested as to where the cattle are raised in the USA.

Related: Cornbelt Cow-Calf Conference 2025 focuses on marketing, management

Producers are hoping changes can be made to the regulations in the next year.

Producers of coco and coffee will face similar hurdles in the future under the EU regulation.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness .