Supreme Court reconsiders beef checkoff issue

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

The hotly contested beef checkoff reached another turning point last week as the U.S. Department of Justice and some cattlemen's advocacy groups have asked the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals -- which earlier ruled that the beef checkoff violated producers rights of free speech and was unconstitutional -- to reconsider their verdict.

Nearly every agricultural commodity raised and marketed in the United States has a form of checkoff system. For instance, for every head cattle sold in the U.S., one dollar of that sale goes to the Beef Council. This organization uses that money for market expansion, research, development and advertising.

Commodity group advertising campaigns are behind such catch phrases as "Beef, it's what for dinner," "Pork, the other white meat," or "Got Milk?" The problem producers encounter with the checkoffs essentially revolves around those advertising champions. Many small or organic agriculture producers do not want to pay for messages that they disagree with -- or, in some cases -- with which they are competing.

While most of the legal battles over the checkoff have involved marketing the Beef Board is quick to point out that checkoff dollars are also used for product research and promoting new markets.

Despite the Nebraska ruling that the checkoff is unconstitutional, the Cattlemen's Beef Council has continued to collect the tax because of a myriad of different rulings about the legality of the checkoff, such as a Montana judge's ruling that the checkoff was perfectly legal in November.

Other checkoff programs have also faced hurdles.

Earlier this year a state tax on Florida citrus, that is the primary source of income for the Florida Department of Citrus, and the Washington apple checkoff were declared unconstitutional.

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