Amazing! How can there STILL be so much confusion about the Beef Checkoff????
Tommy, I don't know what the percentage that the packers pay for checkoff partnered projects may be. I'm sure it varies from year to year. However, the fact that they are not required to do that says good things about them, IMO. But then again, I do not believe they are evil incarnate as some people do.
I may try to find out if records are kept of their contributions. But am sure anyone could at www.cbb.org .
Econ, you are SO confused! The money put into Beef Checkoff promo partnerships has NOTHING to do with TOTAL "return on investment" of checkoff dollars to producers!
It is money put into several specific partnership projects by the businesses involved. It IS measureable. And it has been $56.00 from them for each $1.00 of Beef Checkoff money, TO DATE. And that definitely is a good return on THAT type of investments!
There have been studies that show how the Beef Checkoff spending has returned money (maybe $5.00 to $1.00, ? not sure as that was several years ago) was quoted at one time) back to the cattle producer paying into it. I don't know the methods and am certain that you will not believe it possible, but some people are confident that it has happened. Check it out at the CBB for yourself, for a change.
Econ, are you really that confused that you, in one post you demand there be "an analysis to see just how much the money spent returns on investment (because) absent that, you re just throwing good will money at the wind" and in the same thread, you state "The accounting for calculating the return on investment for beef checkoff returns to producers can not be quantified and you know it. It goes through too many hands"......so which is it, truthfully? And what are your qualifications to make that determination? Do you pay the beef checkoff directly? Or is that just another of your "analogies" or another of the games you like to play with us "idiots"? Or were you "just illustrating the point"?
OT, so, what is the difference between the "sale barn" owning cattle, and the OWNER of that sale barn also owning cattle? Sure, in that case they would be supposed to pay the checkoff, but you say you haven't heard of any sale barns owning cattle, and that seems strange, to me. Maybe there are "sale barn" cattle only in SD???? Just semantics. No big deal.
Are you saying that it never happens that sale barn owners make the mistake of guaranteeing someone a price for their calves and end up owning them and running them as yearlings........besides sometimes deciding to buy yearlings and run them on grass to make some money on cattle that were selling cheap? If that never happened, I don't know why, over the years, I've heard quite a number of people complain of the sale barns, with their deep pockets, running up the price of grass leases to run yearlings, above what an ordinary yearling guy with no sale barn behind him could afford. And, agreed, if they are holding them a short time, they are acting as an order buyer or cattle trader, so not required to pay checkoff in that case. But does anyone check on them to assure they only hold them the ten day limit?
Rod, have you been in business since before the mandatory checkoff? Did you know that there had been a voluntary one, and many producers believed that they should not pay it because the "big guys" probably didn't, and then some of the big guys who had been faithfully paying it felt that it wasn't fair that the "little guys" were free-loading off their money in enjoying the same benefits of the checkoff? While both probably were partly correct, that was the basis for the legislation CATTLE PRODUCERS caused, to bring the mandatory Beef Checkoff to a vote. It passed with cattle producers voting it in by a nearly 80% margin. It always was producer driven and run, with USDA oversight to assure compliance with the law. The cattle producers who decide which projects to support clearly believe that the advertising is worth a large percent of the budget. Personally, I would prefer that more go to research into the true benefits of the nutrients in beef, and to educating government agencies and the health professionals of those facts. Then consumers should get more educational materials and/or advertising than the simple "feel good" beef advertising.......if it were a perfect world!
Don't logging COMPANIES advertise? Furniture companies sure do. Diamonds are advertised, but I doubt the actual guys doing the logging, or building the furniture, or digging out the diamonds do any advertising. The Beef Checkoff IS the COMPANY (cattle producers). It just happens that the guy cashing the check when he sells calves often is the same guy who is out shoveling out the barn that morning! Quite different than the guy mining the diamonds, cutting the trees, or gluing up the chairs paid wages for his hours of work, instead of owning the end product. Granted there are a few small operations where the owner is the operator, but am guessing not so much as among cattle producers.
I do wish those visionaries had made the Beef Checkoff a private entity so that those who chose not to participate had that right, and would not be forced to benefit from the work of the checkoff against their will.
I believe no one has a clue of the actual dollar value of the volunteer work of the thousands of people who make the checkoff system function. We need some economist to quantify that for us!
Mike, another question for you, do you know if packers advertise at all on their own?
MRJ