A cattle industry leader spelled out a three-year timeline that ends with a doubling of the current $1-per-head beef checkoff. Scott George, past president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, provided the timeline during a session at the NCBA convention in San Antonio, reports DTN. An unofficial committee of eight cattle and ag groups is proposing changes in the operating structure of the checkoff program to go along with the higher fee. The working group plans to meet in early March. If it has the go-ahead from members, the group will ask Congress to revise the law that governs the checkoff, said DTN. The request would be made this fall, or in spring 2016.
If approved by Congress, the next step would be a referendum among cattle producers on the $2 checkoff. “All told, George expects the process to take three years if all of the organizations involved in the Beef Checkoff Enhancement Working Group sign the agreement this spring,” said DTN.
The higher checkoff is a divisive issue. The National Farmers Union and a couple of smaller organizations quit the working group last fall, after three years of inconclusive discussions. They said the NCBA, the major contractor for carrying out checkoff projects, was blocking reform. The higher checkoff was proposed because cattle numbers were on a long decline, which meant less money was generated for research and to promote beef consumption. Half of the checkoff revenue is used at the state level and half goes to a national board.