Farmer and rancher participation in federally created “check-off” programs, which raise money for research and promotion of two dozen commodities from cotton to beef and milk, would become voluntary rather than mandatory under a bill filed by Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican. A conservative, Lee said mandatory collection of check-off fees “is crony capitalism at its worst.”
“Producer participation in a check-off shall be voluntary at the point of sale,” said Lee’s bill, which listed 23 check-off programs. If enacted, the bill could sharply reduce the amount of money raised for the programs. Congress is in recess through Labor Day and has a limited schedule of work before the Nov. 8 elections, reducing the chances for action on the bill. Courts have generally upheld the legality of check-offs.
At the same time, Lee and Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, co-sponsored a bill to tighten the operating rules for the check-off programs. The bill would ban disparagement and anti-competitive behavior toward other commodities, require periodic audits, and bar check-off boards from contracting with organizations that lobby on agriculture policy.
Smaller-membership farm groups routinely complain the check-off boards are in league with the largest companies in their sector. The government is investigating whether the American Egg Board unfairly tried to quash a vegetarian version of mayonnaise. “This was a classic case of Big Government and Big Business working together to squeeze out smaller rivals and squelch innovation,” Lee said.