2003 News Archive
Who Collects Checkoff Assessments and How Much Do They Collect?
DENVER (Nov. 20, 2003) - Six types of collecting points assisted in submitting $1-per-head beef checkoff assessments to state beef councils and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board in fiscal 2003, as total collections rose slightly for the year.
No one type of collecting point brings in the majority of collections, but the two largest collectors are auction markets and packers. In fiscal 2003, auction markets collected about 39.8% of total checkoff assessments through sales at their barns, and packers collected about 31.9% of the total through cattle sales to their operations.
According to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which is assembling information for its fiscal 2003 annual report, the remaining assessments during fiscal 2003 were collected from: U.S. Customs, for imports (10.44%); pure-bred/club calf sales (6.70%); individuals (6.07%); dealer order buyers (3.63%); and feedlots (1.45%). The percentage breakdowns are consistent with collection levels of previous years, the Beef Board reported.
"Since my family was in the auction-market business for 15 years, we understand the effort that it takes to collect and remit those assessments and, as producers today, we certainly are grateful for the efforts of all the collecting points for their role in the Beef Checkoff Program," said Beef Board Chairman Andy Tucker, a producer in Rockledge, Fla. "No one type of collection point accounts for the majority of collections, but they are all important."
The Beef Board oversees collection of $1-per-head on all cattle sold in the U.S. and $1-per-head equivalent on imported cattle, beef and beef products. In the 45 states that have qualified state beef councils, the collecting points submit the assessments they collect through their operations to those beef councils. The state beef council then may retain up to 50 cents of the money collected in its state, but at least 50 cents must be sent to the Beef Board for investment in national checkoff programs approved by the Beef Promotion Operating Committee.
In addition to the money forwarded by states, collecting points in the five states that do not have state beef councils - Alaska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island - submit the full $1-per-head they collect directly to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Finally, U.S. Customs collects $1-per head on imported live cattle and the equivalent on imported beef and beef products and submits those collections to the Beef Board.
In fiscal 2003, total assessments submitted to the Beef Board for national programs - from all states and the other collecting points - reached $45.9 million, up from about $45.7 million in fiscal 2002. This does not include the 50 cents of each dollar that is kept by state beef councils for investment in regional and state programs or to supplement the national program, as directed by their boards. When state and national revenues are added together for fiscal 2003, they total about $83.7 million.
The full fiscal 2003 Beef Board annual report, including complete financial reports audited by an independent certified public accounting firm, as well as specific program information, will be published in late December.
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The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.
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