April 30, 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 17
GEORGIA BEEF ASSESSMENT PASSES In a referendum held March 15 - April 15, Georgia beef cattle producers approved a $1 per head assessment to support education, research and promotion efforts for beef and beef products. The assessment, for which collection will begin July 1, will be in addition to the National Beef Board checkoff. A total of 1,386 ballots were mailed in March and 935 cattlemen submitted their votes, a return rate of 67.46 percent. Of those, 714 (76.4 percent) voted in favor and 221 voted against. Under state law, 25 percent of the mailed ballots must be returned and 66.7 percent must vote in favor for a referendum to pass. The assessment, which under state law must be put to a reaffirmation vote every three years, will be collected at the time of the first sale. Cattle that sell for less than $100 per head are exempt and order buyers are exempt from paying the assessment on cattle owned for 10 days or less. The process of creating the assessment originated with the Georgia Farm Bureau Beef Cattle Committee along with the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association, Georgia Milk Producers and Georgia Livestock Marketing Association. Representatives of the four organizations began meeting in 2012 to explore ways to fund research and promotion activities. With declining herds and growing costs, funding for Georgia activities under the National Beef Checkoff had become increasingly limited. The National Beef Checkoff could only be used for promotion and post-slaughter research. The Georgia beef assessment will allow pre-slaughter research. For instance, if cattlemen experience fly control issues in their herds, assessment funds could be used to seek solutions. The beef stakeholder groups went to the Georgia General Assembly and requested legislation authorizing a referendum. State lawmakers passed Senate Bill 97 during the 2013 legislative session, creating the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Beef (ACCB) and authorizing a referendum to be held. The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) accepted ballot requests last fall and held a public hearing on Feb. 28 as required under the Georgia Commodities Promotion Act. The GDA also accepted written comments. Following the hearing the commission chose to move forward with the referendum. Georgia Farm Bureau Beef Cattle Committee Chairman John Callaway of Troup County is also the chairman of the ACCB. Other commission members are Vice Chairman Ernie Ford of Calhoun County, Jeff Duncan of Madison County, Kenneth Murphy of Meriwether County and Allen Wiggins of Turner County. GFB President Zippy Duvall and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black are ex officio members of the ACCB.