Wed., July 09 03 -- Checkoff Litigation Process Challenges Program’s Focus

Suggested Lead:

The decision this week by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, upholding a ruling by a lower circuit court that the beef checkoff is unconstitutional, has created a lot of discussion among cattlemen.  According to Monte Reese, chief operating officer for the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, it’s fruitless to speculate about what this means in the immediate future.   

Cut #1    :26       Outcue: "...with those litigation issues."

Reese says the timing of this particular decision probably couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Cut #2    :17       Outcue: "...beef in big numbers."

According to Reese, checkoff collections and programs will continue while the case is in review by the Justice Department, which is defending the suite.  He says Beef Board producer members are hoping that it will continue beyond that point.

Cut #3    :18       Outcue: "...perceptions about beef."

Reese says the Beef Board isn’t a faceless organization within the government – it consists mostly of people who raise cattle and… and all of whom pay the checkoff.

Cut #4    :22       Outcue: "...generations of cattlemen."

The Justice Department will decide in the next 45 days what actions it will take in defending the $1-per-head beef checkoff.  The checkoff is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  The mandatory checkoff was instituted in 1985, and has not changed since that time.  When it was voted on in 1988, 79 percent of producers supported the program as written.