Supreme Court Hears Beef Checkoff Case

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 8, 2004) – The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in an appeal of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that found the national Beef Promotion and Research Act in violation of the First Amendment.  The high court is expected to reach its decision on the constitutionality of the Beef Checkoff Program in the first half of 2005.  The beef checkoff continues to operate through these proceedings. 

“As ranchers who pay the checkoff year-in and year-out, we strongly support its continuation and are confident it will prevail,” said Maxine Jones, a cattle producer from Midland, S.D.  Jones and her husband, Ralph “Shorty” Jones, intervened in the case in support of the Beef Checkoff Program and attended today’s oral arguments. “It’s been essential to the growth and success of the cattle industry, which is why I believe it has such widespread producer support,” she said.

July 2004 independent market research that is representative of the U.S. beef industry indicates that 70 percent of producers support the beef checkoff.

Jan Lyons, a Manhattan, Kan., beef producer and president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), agreed with Jones’ assessment of the checkoff.  “It is clear that the checkoff has helped drive the dramatic increase in consumer demand – more than 16 percent since 1998. This, in turn, has increased the prices that we as cattlemen receive for our animals,” said Lyons.  “Supporters from across the country understand that this demand growth has been vital not only to American agriculture, but to the entire rural economy.”    

In total, 113 state and national beef industry and general agriculture organizations filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the Beef Checkoff Program, as did attorneys general from 35 states and Puerto Rico and the chairmen of both the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees.  Nebraska Cattlemen, Inc., leading a group of supportive producers intervening on behalf of the checkoff, is a defendant in the case along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board.

“Cattlemen have supported a checkoff assessment since 1922,” said Bob Rolston, an Englewood, Colo., cattleman and chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils Division of NCBA.  “State beef councils and their Federation are committed to protecting the brand equity built by the producer-funded ‘Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.^®’ campaign.”

Lyons added, “Support for the Beef Checkoff Program is not about preserving organizations.  It is about preserving critical checkoff programs that help sustain the largest part of American agriculture.  NCBA will continue to exist regardless of the outcome.”  She said, “It is the only national organization that has demonstrated the ability to defend and build demand for beef on behalf of America’s beef producers.” 

Checkoff dollars were used to prepare for the potential discovery of BSE on U.S. soil.  Since the Dec. 23, 2003, diagnosis of a single case of BSE, checkoff funds have been used to distribute accurate, scientific information about the safety of the U.S. beef supply to consumers, cattlemen and media.  This effort has helped maintain consumer confidence in beef.

The challenge to the beef checkoff was raised by the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) – a service group that represents some auction market owners, the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) – a funding resource for environmental activist groups, and a few individual ranchers.

Rolston concluded, “I find it frustrating that the challenge to the beef checkoff’s constitutionality was raised by groups that don’t represent me as a producer who pays the beef checkoff.” 

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