PATERSON, Wash. —Fifty-mile-per-hour winds and snow drifts seven feet deep greeted Ted Wishon when he checked on his cattle herd, hunkered down on a hillside along the northern bank of the Columbia River.
With his 21-year-old son, George, Wishon labored through six weeks of brutal weather this year keeping hundreds of animals alive. The two men — living in a spartan trailer on leased land pinned between a winery and the icy waterway — repaired fences, delivered calves and kept the herd fed and watered.
As spring approached, the snow melted and the winds grew slack. The gales that now buffet the Wishons are political.
The men are among a group of cattle ranchers who say their livelihood may depend upon persuading Congress to order mandatory country-of-origin labeling for the steaks and burgers they produce. The government once required such labels, but lawmakers outlawed them in 2015 to comply with global trade rules. Read more