2015
The label stopped telling you
Congress repealed country-of-origin labeling for beef and pork after WTO rulings authorised retaliatory tariffs. Imported meat could then be sold without naming where the animal was raised.
USDA AMS ↗The mission
Blue Dot Farms connects people with independent agricultural producers, and gives buyers practical information about food, farm products, purchasing choices, and the policies shaping American agriculture. We are not a certifier, a retailer, or a campaign — we are a directory and an explanation.
Why this matters
It was taken off the label, one policy at a time. None of this is secret — every item below is a matter of public record, and each links to its primary source.
2015
Congress repealed country-of-origin labeling for beef and pork after WTO rulings authorised retaliatory tariffs. Imported meat could then be sold without naming where the animal was raised.
USDA AMS ↗Now
Roughly 85% of fed cattle are slaughtered by four firms. When that few buyers set the price, an independent producer takes what is offered — and the margin leaves the county.
USDA ERS ↗2024
USDA restricted the voluntary claim to animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed here, with compliance from January 2026. Until then the phrase could sit on imported meat that was merely repackaged.
USDA FSIS ↗2025
USDA ended the Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance programs — about $1 billion that schools and food banks used specifically to buy from nearby farms. Alongside deep staffing reductions, the programmes pointed at local producers were among the first to go.
USDA ↗Every figure here is checkable, and should be checked. Blue Dot Farms links primary sources rather than asking you to take our word for it.
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Every listing shows how it got there. Public-source listings are built from a producer's own public business information. Producer-confirmed listings mean the farm asked to take part. Neither is a certification or an endorsement.
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