Beef Checkoff Taskforce recommends doubling assessment
Friday, September 8, 2006, 3:59 PM
by Peter Shinn
Audio related to this story
Interview with Jim Hanna runs 8:20.
The Industry-Wide Beef Industry Checkoff Task Force wrapped up its work Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri with a recommendation to double the per-head assessment to $2.00 and to implement a system that would make a producer referendum on the checkoff simpler.
Nebraska cow-calf operator Jim Hanna represented R-CALF USA on the Checkoff Taskforce. He said R-CALF USA opposed increasing the checkoff assessment, and felt the Taskforce should have focused on other issues. "Of course, the idea of increasing the assessment was the main topic on most of the folks that were part of that task force, that was the thing that was the thing that was highest on their agenda," Hanna said. "We had a number of other items that we were more concerned about that we certainly wanted to see addressed before we took any position on increasing the assessment."
While R-CALF opposed doubling the beef checkoff assessment, Hanna said there was little disagreement about the Task Force recommendation to simplify the producer referendum process. The Task Force recommended the beef checkoff implement a similar referendum process to that currently employed by the soybean checkoff. If approved, the beef checkoff would be subject to a referendum every five years, but only if 10% of beef producers petitioned to hold such a referendum.
None of the Task Force recommendations will go into effect quickly. Hanna said the recommendations must be approved by Congress and then voted on by producers, a process he said could take years. "We felt that even at the most optimistic, 18 months, and I think that's probably wildly optimistic," Hanna said. "My personal opinion is we're looking at two to three years out before this would actually come to a producer vote, and maybe longer than that before it was actually enacted."
Hanna said even though R-CALF USA didn't get all it wanted from the Task Force, being included in the task force is a sign of R-CALF's growing influence in the beef industry. "We were recognized as an important part of the cattle business," he said. "R-CALF as an organization has grown and grown in importance, and they recognized that without our support, getting these changes made were going to be difficult," he added. "And we felt that part of it was pretty critical to our organization," Hanna concluded.