Four Recommendations from Checkoff Task Force

The Industry-Wide Beef Checkoff Task Force completed its work the week of Sept. 4 and has offered the industry four recommendations to enhance the current Beef Checkoff Program.  The four recommendations appear below.

“The Task Force was an idea started at the grassroots level by some state cattlemen associations,” said NCBA President Mike John of Huntsville, Mo.  “At their direction, NCBA initiated this industry-wide review because we believed it was important to provide a forum for all national organizations involved in the industry to discuss and develop recommendations to strengthen the promotion, education and research engine of the beef industry.”

John said that above all else, NCBA remained committed throughout the Task Force’s evaluation that any enhancement to the Beef Checkoff Program must do these things: preserve or improve producer control through their state beef councils and continue to provide an outlet to build and protect beef demand.  He said he believes the Task Force’s recommendations maintain this level of integrity. The Task Force’s recommendations will be considered by NCBA’s board of directors and membership at the annual meeting at the end of January.

The recommendations of the Industry-Wide Beef Checkoff Task Force are: 

•  An opportunity to petition for a referendum.  Revise the beef referendum process 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 the USDA to conduct a vote within a year.  This is similar to the Soybean referendum model.  

•  An adjustment of the checkoff rate.  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 50-50 split between state beef councils and the Beef Board would remain the same.  The industry will need to approve any checkoff rate change through a referendum.

•  Enhanced understanding of the Federation of State Beef Councils.  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.

•  Make the checkoff more inclusive.  Eliminate any reference to the charter date of established national non-profit industry governed organizations from the definition (1260.113c) in the Beef Promotion and Research Order.  This will make the checkoff program more inclusive.

The four recommendations were passed by at least a super-majority (two-thirds) of the Task Force. Not all were supported unanimously.