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Today 9/8/2006 1:45:00 PM
R-CALF: Producers Disappointed In Outcome Of Beef Checkoff Task Force Meetings
(Billings, Mont.) – R-CALF USA Beef Checkoff Committee Chair Jim Hanna said he was disappointed in the outcome out of a series of summer meetings conducted by the Industry-Wide Beef Checkoff Task Force, which concluded on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.
According to a Task Force news release issued May 26, 2006, the Task Force’s mission was “to review, study and recommend enhancements to the Beef Act and Order (Beef Checkoff) for the purposes of strengthening the Checkoff for the common good of the beef industry.”
“We knew from the outset that with the majority of the Task Force comprised of affiliates of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and other groups NCBA is closely allied with, there was little chance to seriously consider any issues other than increasing the assessment,” Hanna said. “R-CALF brought up a number of possible modifications to the program – including suggestions to earmark dollars to promote USA-born-and-raised products, to allow the Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) to contract directly with vendors, to expand the assessment to the packing industry, and to conduct a mandatory periodic referendum.”
The Task Force formally recommended that the “referendum process be revised to provide producers the opportunity to petition every five years for a referendum on continuing the Checkoff. Ten percent of beef producers signing the petition at county offices will trigger USDA to conduct a vote within a year.” Participants noted this measure is similar to the soybean referendum model. R-CALF USA voted in favor of this measure.
R-CALF USA voted against the Task Force’s recommendation to increase the assessment fee from $1 to $2 per head. The measure passed 11-4. The formal Task Force recommendation is: “To assure strong demand-building initiatives for the beef industry in the future and to offset 20 years of inflation, adjust the per-head Checkoff rate to $2. The industry will need to approve any Checkoff rate change through a referendum.”
“The general consensus was that any funding level change would have to go through Congress, and then it would be up for a producer referendum as well, but the vote wouldn’t be up or down for the entire Beef Checkoff, just the proposed increase,” Hanna said. “I believe it is unlikely, when put to a vote of the producers, that there will be sufficient support for increasing the assessment.
“The idea to allow the CBB to contract directly with vendors is something R-CALF has been asking for all along, but it was also voted down, 11-4,” Hanna continued. “However, R-CALF did support a change in the original Checkoff language that prohibited national non-profit industry organizations created after 1985 from bidding on Checkoff contracts, so that step will help make the program more inclusive, and that measure passed unanimously.”
Another formal recommendation stated: “The Federation of State Beef Councils gives priority to enhancing its identity in order to strengthen beef industry stakeholder understanding of the Federation. Options such as changing its name from “The Federation Division” to “The Beef Checkoff Federation” could be considered. The measure passed 14-1, with R-CALF USA being the lone dissenter.
“We felt this was just a change in nomenclature so the Task Force could say they offered something in this particular area,” Hanna said. “R-CALF also voted that the Federation should be removed from under the auspices of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, but that was voted down 11-4.
“Through a mail-in ballot this spring, R-CALF membership overwhelmingly supported new policies regarding the Beef Checkoff,” noted Hanna. “Those resolutions represent several positive modifications to the program, and R-CALF will continue to strongly advocate for inclusion of those items in any reexamination of the Act and Order.
“I find it interesting to note that even in CBB’s own survey, more than 80 percent of the respondents thought that using Checkoff funds for a USA-raised product was desirable, if there were no effect on Checkoff payments by importers.”
“R-CALF has never been opposed to the Checkoff, and acknowledges the program’s success in building consumer beef demand, but the Checkoff has been around more than 20 years without any modifications,” Hanna noted. “R-CALF represents independent cattle producers, and those producers have told us it’s time to make some changes to enhance what the Checkoff does for them. Producers want to feel that they have a say in how the Checkoff is administered, and they want to feel like there are folks running the program who truly have producer interests at heart.
“Producers also want to know how efficiently Checkoff funds are being spent once the money is sent to NCBA, and they’d like to see a solid accounting of that activity in an easy-to-understand format,” Hanna concluded. “We don’t think the solution is throwing more money into the Checkoff, but increasing the program’s efficiency.
Note: To view R-CALF USA Checkoff Resolutions, Task Force documents, etc., please visit www.r-calfusa.com and go to the “Checkoff” link.
R-CALF: Producers Disappointed In Outcome Of Beef Checkoff Task Force Meetings
(Billings, Mont.) – R-CALF USA Beef Checkoff Committee Chair Jim Hanna said he was disappointed in the outcome out of a series of summer meetings conducted by the Industry-Wide Beef Checkoff Task Force, which concluded on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.
According to a Task Force news release issued May 26, 2006, the Task Force’s mission was “to review, study and recommend enhancements to the Beef Act and Order (Beef Checkoff) for the purposes of strengthening the Checkoff for the common good of the beef industry.”
“We knew from the outset that with the majority of the Task Force comprised of affiliates of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and other groups NCBA is closely allied with, there was little chance to seriously consider any issues other than increasing the assessment,” Hanna said. “R-CALF brought up a number of possible modifications to the program – including suggestions to earmark dollars to promote USA-born-and-raised products, to allow the Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) to contract directly with vendors, to expand the assessment to the packing industry, and to conduct a mandatory periodic referendum.”
The Task Force formally recommended that the “referendum process be revised to provide producers the opportunity to petition every five years for a referendum on continuing the Checkoff. Ten percent of beef producers signing the petition at county offices will trigger USDA to conduct a vote within a year.” Participants noted this measure is similar to the soybean referendum model. R-CALF USA voted in favor of this measure.
R-CALF USA voted against the Task Force’s recommendation to increase the assessment fee from $1 to $2 per head. The measure passed 11-4. The formal Task Force recommendation is: “To assure strong demand-building initiatives for the beef industry in the future and to offset 20 years of inflation, adjust the per-head Checkoff rate to $2. The industry will need to approve any Checkoff rate change through a referendum.”
“The general consensus was that any funding level change would have to go through Congress, and then it would be up for a producer referendum as well, but the vote wouldn’t be up or down for the entire Beef Checkoff, just the proposed increase,” Hanna said. “I believe it is unlikely, when put to a vote of the producers, that there will be sufficient support for increasing the assessment.
“The idea to allow the CBB to contract directly with vendors is something R-CALF has been asking for all along, but it was also voted down, 11-4,” Hanna continued. “However, R-CALF did support a change in the original Checkoff language that prohibited national non-profit industry organizations created after 1985 from bidding on Checkoff contracts, so that step will help make the program more inclusive, and that measure passed unanimously.”
Another formal recommendation stated: “The Federation of State Beef Councils gives priority to enhancing its identity in order to strengthen beef industry stakeholder understanding of the Federation. Options such as changing its name from “The Federation Division” to “The Beef Checkoff Federation” could be considered. The measure passed 14-1, with R-CALF USA being the lone dissenter.
“We felt this was just a change in nomenclature so the Task Force could say they offered something in this particular area,” Hanna said. “R-CALF also voted that the Federation should be removed from under the auspices of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, but that was voted down 11-4.
“Through a mail-in ballot this spring, R-CALF membership overwhelmingly supported new policies regarding the Beef Checkoff,” noted Hanna. “Those resolutions represent several positive modifications to the program, and R-CALF will continue to strongly advocate for inclusion of those items in any reexamination of the Act and Order.
“I find it interesting to note that even in CBB’s own survey, more than 80 percent of the respondents thought that using Checkoff funds for a USA-raised product was desirable, if there were no effect on Checkoff payments by importers.”
“R-CALF has never been opposed to the Checkoff, and acknowledges the program’s success in building consumer beef demand, but the Checkoff has been around more than 20 years without any modifications,” Hanna noted. “R-CALF represents independent cattle producers, and those producers have told us it’s time to make some changes to enhance what the Checkoff does for them. Producers want to feel that they have a say in how the Checkoff is administered, and they want to feel like there are folks running the program who truly have producer interests at heart.
“Producers also want to know how efficiently Checkoff funds are being spent once the money is sent to NCBA, and they’d like to see a solid accounting of that activity in an easy-to-understand format,” Hanna concluded. “We don’t think the solution is throwing more money into the Checkoff, but increasing the program’s efficiency.
Note: To view R-CALF USA Checkoff Resolutions, Task Force documents, etc., please visit www.r-calfusa.com and go to the “Checkoff” link.