South Dakota Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch has introduced legislation to create an Interstate Cooperative Meatpacking Compact.
Gosch says the purpose of HB1219 is to streamline interstate livestock commerce by removing state barriers and agreeing to meet federal regulations. He says over the past year, agriculture leaders in Midwest states have been discussing opportunities to remove barriers for producers and meat processors while opening up new markets for their products.
Gosch says his conversations started with Montana Speaker Wylie Galt and now eight other states have also joined the discussion.
Galt says Montana and other western ag producers have a long history of working together to meet the demands of consumers. He says as state leaders, they believe this compact will mutually benefit our ag economies while also increasing consumer access to locally raised meat products.
If passed in equal forms, Montana and South Dakota would be the first states to adopt this type of agreement.
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