I'm curious who's responsible for paying the checkoff in your State?
In Maine the buyer or seller is responsible for paying as long as somebody pays? That's the problem, they don't designate one party as being responsible for the payment. I have wondered about my direct market freezer beef sales, I found out this winter they want to start cracking down onl these people and that they are supposed to pay the dollar. The way they write the rules, the customer buying the animal would also be responsible if I didn't pay.
In Maine the buyer or seller is responsible for paying as long as somebody pays? That's the problem, they don't designate one party as being responsible for the payment. I have wondered about my direct market freezer beef sales, I found out this winter they want to start cracking down onl these people and that they are supposed to pay the dollar. The way they write the rules, the customer buying the animal would also be responsible if I didn't pay.
Any producer selling cattle for any reason must pay the dollar. Under the law, cattle are defined as "Any live, domesticated bovine animal, regardless of age." Besides cattle sold for slaughter, this includes all dairy and beef cattle sold for breeding purposes through auctions, private treaty sales (producer to producer) as well as cattle butchered by the producer and sold privately in the form of fresh beef.
The Buyer
The beef checkoff goes into effect every time a bovine animal is sold. The law requires that $1.00 per head be withheld from the sale proceeds by the buyer (Collection Point) and remitted to the Maine Beef Industry Council. A "Collection Point" is defined as "any person making payment to a producer for cattle." This includes auction markets, feedyards, dealer/order buyers, other producers, auctioneers, clerking services, banks, commission firms, and packers. When cattle are sold, the "Collection Point" (buyer) withholds $1.00 per head from the sale purchase price. These checkoff dollars are sent to the Maine Beef Industry Council.
The Seller
The seller is also responsible. The seller must collect and remit one dollar per head if:
The buyer or collection point fails to collect, or
The seller is a U.S. owner selling cattle for export
Either the buyer or seller may collect and remit the dollar in private treaty transactions. Both the buyer and the seller are equally liable under the law until dollars collected are received by the Maine Beef Industry Council.