2002 News Archive
Judge Says Beef Checkoff is Constitutional
BILLINGS, MONT. (Nov. 1, 2002) – U.S. District Court Judge Richard Cebull today reaffirmed the constitutionality of the beef checkoff with his ruling in a suit brought by Steve and Jeanne Charter and various other cattle producers attempting to derail the checkoff program.
The judge’s ruling declares the Beef Promotion and Research Act constitutional and notes that speech compelled by the act “constitutes support for government speech.” Accordingly, the ruling directs that judgment be entered in favor of USDA, on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, and requires the Charters to remit unpaid assessments and late fees.
“Obviously, we are thrilled with Judge Cebull’s decision,” said Cattlemen’s Beef Board Chairman Dee Lacey. “It reaffirms what other cases have concluded repeatedly through the years – that the beef checkoff is constitutional.”
The District Judge in Billings, Mont. issued the ruling in favor of the defendants – the USDA and a group of producers who intervened on behalf of the checkoff, based on his review of the record in the case, as well as the transcripts in the Livestock Marketing Association’s lawsuit against the checkoff. In that South Dakota suit, now under consideration by the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Minneapolis, LMA similarly challenged the constitutionality of the Beef Checkoff Program.
“We have remained confident in the future of the beef checkoff,” Beef Board Chief Operating Officer Monte Reese said. “Surveys show that the vast majority of producers say they support their beef checkoff, and we continue to focus our time and attention on building demand for beef.”
Lacey, a cow-calf producer from Paso Robles, Calif., said the ruling adds momentum to the Beef Board’s efforts to increase consumer demand for beef through such informational and promotional efforts as the widely recognized “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” campaign.
The Charter case originated as a compliance issue in 1998, when Montana ranchers Steve and Jeanne Charter refused to pay the mandated $1-per-head beef checkoff on the sale of their cattle. Faced with the Charters’ refusal to pay, a USDA administrative law judge enforced the checkoff and assessed a civil penalty. Upon further review by the USDA’s judicial officer, at the bequest of the Charters, assessments of those penalties were upheld.
The Charters then chose to appeal their case to the Federal District Court in Billings, based on the 2001 United Foods case. Defendants in the case include the USDA and a group of producers who intervened on behalf of the checkoff.
With the declaration of the beef checkoff’s constitutionality, the Beef Board’s chairman says it is important that all players in the beef industry band together to improve the marketplace for their products – especially in light of recent market activity.
“It is now more critical than ever that we come together as an industry,” Lacey said. “We would call on the Charters to join us in these efforts, with an eye toward increasing long-term profitability for all segments of our industry.”
A link to the decision is posted on the beefboard.org Web site at the following location: http://www.beefboard.org/dsp/dsp_locationContent.cfm?locationId=1072
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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 oversees the national checkoff program, subject to USDA oversight. 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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