October 22, 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 42
USDA BEEF CHECKOFF PLAN DRAWS IRE OF CATTLEMEN’S GROUPS On Oct. 14 a group of 45 state cattlemens’ associations, including the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association (GCA), sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging him not to issue an order for a supplemental beef checkoff under the 1996 General Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act. Earlier this year, Georgia beef producers approved a $1 per head assessment for cattle sold in Georgia. The Georgia Beef Commission began collecting the state assessment on July 1, in addition to the $1-per-head National Beef Checkoff. Recognizing that additional money is needed for beef promotion and research, Georgia is one of several states that have taken this step, opting not to wait on an increase in the National Beef Checkoff assessment. After national beef stakeholder groups could not reach a consensus on raising the National Beef Checkoff, Vilsack said on Sept. 30 that he would issue an order establishing a second checkoff under the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996. Establishment of a second checkoff would have to follow the federal rulemaking process. The USDA would have to publish it in the Federal Register and allow for comment from the public before putting it into place. In published reports Vilsack said he anticipated the second checkoff would be in place by 2016. GCA President Melvin Porter said the additional national checkoff would make it more difficult to keep Georgia’s beef assessment when it comes up from reaffirmation in three years, and the USDA’s plan for a second checkoff at the national level would reduce producer input on how the funds are spent. “I can see a lot of that money being gobbled up in administrative costs,” Porter said, noting that the administrative costs for the Georgia assessment are at 2.5 percent. “But the main thing is that the Secretary will have the power to appoint board members from the general public and they will decide how the money is spent. Who else knows better than the producer how that money needs to be spent. We’re the ones out there living it.” In the letter to Vilsack, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) expressed concerns that forming a second checkoff under the 1996 law would give more control to the federal government and add bureaucracy while failing to assure a coordinated national/state partnership concept. The NCBA has started a petition to have the supplemental beef checkoff proposal withdrawn. To sign the petition, visit http://tinyurl.com/beefpetition. For more information visit http://www.beefUSA.org.