HELENA, Mont. -- Ranchers want to bring truth-in-labeling back for beef and pork in Montana.

A proposal in the Montana Legislature would ask retailers to put up signs in front of beef and pork that clarifies the product was born, raised and processed in the United States.

Otherwise, the meat would be described as imported or origin unlabeled.

Imported meat currently can use "Product of the USA" labeling even if it's repackaged here.

John Bailey, a member of the grassroots agriculture group Northern Plains Resource Council and a rancher in southeastern Montana, urged the change to help consumers.

"The vast majority of people tell us that they want to know where their food comes from," Bailey explained. "And I think that a 'COOL' bill, a country-of-origin labeling bill, is the way to start doing that."

Congress repealed the country-of-origin requirement in 2015. The World Trade Organization ruled it violated the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2011.

Imports from countries such as Brazil have driven the cost of beef down in the last few years.

Bailey noted that has affected Montana ranchers.

"After COOL was repealed, our prices dropped by about $1 a pound," Bailey recounted. "Well, that's $600 an animal. To the average rancher, that's a pretty significant hit."

Bailey also pointed out COVID-19 has revealed the importance of local food sources.

"The pandemic has brought attention to the fact that we need to have a safe, reliable, domestic source of meat, and right now we don't," Bailey asserted.

The legislation, House Bill 324, had a hearing in the House Agriculture Committee last week.

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Family farms are navigating a maze of market barriers and threats from climate change.

While solutions develop, some say producers could learn a thing or two from past crises, and a leading advocate in North Dakota is helping to deliver that message.

Saturday, the Dakota Resource Council (DRC) will host its annual meeting virtually.

Sarah Vogel, attorney, author, and former North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture, who led the landmark federal case from the 1980s that protected many farms from foreclosure, will be one of the speakers. She sees similarities in past and current struggles.

In the '80s, she and other advocates learned to overcome an unfair appeals process within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"Back then, the person that would be the hearing officer would often be the person who made the decision that was being appealed," Vogel recounted. "Well, you're not gonna get a fair hearing if your judge is also the executioner."

Thanks to reforms, she said a more neutral process exists today, giving smaller farmers a bigger voice.

The Resource Council urged policymakers to offer more incentives to producers who want to adopt conservation practices, which can better protect their land from extreme weather events. The USDA said the number of farm operations in North Dakota has fallen to 26,000, with some of the biggest declines in those with the smallest revenue.

Vogel advised farmers struggling to keep their head above water should amplify calls for patience from lenders. She pointed out leaning on landowners to make abrupt decisions creates a wave of problems seen in the '80s, such as declines in property values.

Vogel added that is not good for surrounding communities.

"Today, we see declines in the rural economy, and boarded-up Main Streets and so forth," Vogel observed. "A lot of that is connected to the loss of family farmers. "

Current farmers pointed to the need for reforms when it comes to market concentration. They said only a handful of firms control beef and other commodities. This year, the Biden administration announced a series of moves to address those concerns.

Saturday's meeting runs from 12:45 to 5:00 p.m. You do not have to be a DRC member to listen in. Those interested can e-mail the group for a Zoom link.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Locally produced honey, artwork and handmade scarves and sweaters will not be stuck on a container ship this holiday season, and small businesses are counting on a strong showing on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 27.

Jessica Campos, director of the women's business center at the Center for Rural Affairs, believes lessons learned during COVID disruptions will translate into more people spending dollars at mom-and-pop shops across Nebraska.

"I think the pandemic has been a catalyst for many Americans in both rural and urban settings to think more locally in terms of supporting their neighbors, their local food systems, and local economies," Campos explained.

Almost half of all small businesses in the U.S. surveyed by American Express said they need above-average holiday sales to keep their doors open.

Campos pointed out when small businesses close, communities lose an employer, a school sponsor and a neighbor if they are forced to find work elsewhere.

While it can be tempting to shop at big-box stores or corporate chains for slightly lower prices, Campos noted most Nebraskans understand small businesses are the backbone for local economies.

"Shopping locally has added bonuses," Campos contended. "Some offer free gift wrapping and advice if you're looking for that perfect gift, that perfect coffee, that perfect pair of shoes in your local boutiques."

Almost two-thirds of small businesses have a functioning website, and Campos emphasized most make it easy to shop safely online, or to place orders by phone, where there is a good chance you will be speaking directly to the owner. If you are on a tight budget, she added there are other ways you can help boost local economies.

"Supporting small businesses isn't all about shopping," Campos stressed. "Just liking and sharing on social media supports your local businesses. Share promotions, posts and hashtags, these are great motivators for others in your community to support small businesses."

FILLMORE, Ill. - A new report says farmers in the United States need better broadband and in more places - their home offices, their fields and their communities.

Needs range from faster upload and download speeds to better data about available networks and scalable networks that can be updated as needs grow and change. The report from the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society showed how broadband also is key to sustainable farming.

Report author Jordan Arnold said connected technologies allow farmers to measure their inputs and outputs, creating opportunities for more efficient resource management.

"One study finds that precision agriculture improves fertilizer placement efficiency by 7%, and it could improve fertilizer efficiency by another 14% with wider adoption," she said. "And so we see broadband as key to sustainability."

In 2019, a United Soybean Board study found 60% of ranchers and farmers didn't feel they had the connectivity to properly run their business.

Heather Hampton Knodle, who farms with her husband at Knodle Ltd., their family farm, said there are far more software-based applications farmers could be using - but many require much more upload capacity from the field, and working with data at the farm headquarters. She said that's a challenge in areas where high-speed internet service is limited. Knodle said she believes broadband is paramount not only to farming but rural entrepreneurship.

"Any farm is actually a small business, and we need to have access to real-time information," she said. "So, the speed of that data really matters, especially when it comes to making decisions related to marketing."

She added that it's especially important that broadband expansion efforts focus on the last mile of service and the middle mile. But in some rural areas, ongoing operating and maintenance costs are issues in broadband buildout discussions.

Arnold noted that the report recommends adopting high-performance standards, ensuring broadband maps have mobile coverage on farmland, and adopting comprehensive state broadband plans.

"When everything is connected by a broadband network," she said, "you create not only new opportunities for agriculture, but also for remote education and training, for teleworking, for telemedicine, all those things."