Darrell Wood is proud of his cows--and he wants us to know it. As they chomp through the bitterbrush of California's high desert, their ears waggle a plastic ID tag adorned with a tiny American flag. And when steaks from Wood's 1,500 Angus are sold in markets out West, they sport a bold red-white-and-blue label: BORN & RAISED IN THE USA. "American ranchers raise the safest and best-quality cattle in the world," says Wood, a fifth-generation cattleman. "Consumers deserve to know where their meat comes from."
Six years ago, Wood, 49, was deeply in debt as
prices for U.S. cattle...