Pasco cattleman sues Agriculture over regulations A Pasco cattleman wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture to rewrite its regulations on country-of-origin labeling for beef. Easterday Ranches has sued the USDA in U.S. District Court in Spokane. The regulations add to the costs for the U.S. beef industry and consumers, said Cody Easterday, president of the company. Foreign-born cattle have to be segregated from U.S.-born cattle, and the two can't be slaughtered on the same day, he said. Suppliers and buyers need to keep extensive records, and buyers have to ensure the meat is kept separated in the processing plant, he said. Commercial buyers are paying as much as $30 less per head for Canadian or Mexican cattle, while there is no premium on U.S. cattle, explained Easterday, a third-generation rancher whose company markets 60,000 cattle annually. But most importantly, the regulations don't add to food safety, Easterday said, because all beef slaughtered in the U.S. is subject to the same safety inspections. The country of origin regulations also contradict the North American Free Trade Act, Easterday said....