From: laddiesmbmathis@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, August 05, 2006 10:03 AM
To: MarketingClaim
Subject: Grass-fed standard should require pasture




Chief Martin O'Connor
AMS, USDA, Room 2607-S
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Chief O'Connor,

Please require that producers who benefit from the "grass-fed"
or "forage-fed" marketing claim raise their animals on pasture.

I DO NOT agree with this statement.
I have relatives who live in Utah, who run big feed-lot dairies.
The cows are grass-fed excellent alfalfa and other nutritious stuff like grain,
but it would be crazy to turn them out into the alfalfa fields. There are no
pastures in their area. Open range has so little grass that it takes 100 sq.
miles to support one beef cow. This is fine for small herds that wander around
and stay where they find food and water, but impossible for animals that have to
be milked every day. The feed-lot cows have lots of room to loaf around in
during the day, and water always available nearby.
All alfalfa is irrigated, grown in carefully leveled fields. To turn the herd
out onto these fields would destroy them. It is only common sense to carefully
raise the alfalfa, cutting and baling it at its peak of nutritional value, and
preserving the fields to regrow and produce more alfalfa in a few weeks.
The cows are fed all they will eat, but not too much more as it would be foolish
to have it wasted. The more we can get them to eat, the better: the more milk
they will produce.


Sincerely,

Margaret Mathis
P.O.Box 187
Morris, New York 13808