From: juanbarragan@infosel.net.mx
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 2:08 PM
To: MarketingClaim
Subject: Docket No. LS-05-09



USDA

Docket No. LS-05-09

To whom it may concern.

I would respectfully like to share my point of view with you.

As a producer and consumer of grassfed beef I strongly believe that the USDA
grassfed standard must not allow the feeding of harvested grass on confinement
for long periods of time (by "long" I mean having the animals confined with the
single purpose of feeding them).

There are times when you must confine your animals in order to realize some
management practices, at this time the animals should be fed so as not to lose
the weight gained on pasture and returned to the pasture as soon as possible. 
Depending on the different situations and geographical locations this period of
time may vary.  But anyhow,  this is feeding because of necesary confinement.

The idea of confining animals to be fed is totally diferent from what consumers
at this point understand of the term grassfed.

At this point consumers understand that grassfed is not only the act of feeding
grass, it means cattle grazing on pastures, humanely raised in a sustainable way
by concerned ranchers and farmers, free of synthetic hormones and other growth
promoters as well as antibiotics.  In short, consumers understand of grassfed as
a non-industrialized process.

Allowing the confiement of cattle with the single purpose of feeding them would
damage the point of what concened grassfed consumers and producers have been
building for many years.

I would like to suggest that the USDA grassfed standard should enphasize on the
actual perception of the consumers as to what grassfed is and not just the
technical aspect of feeding grass.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Juan M. Barragan