Contact: Diane Henderson 303-850-3465 dhenderson@beefboard.org
BEEF CHECKOFF PROGRAM REACHES AGREEMENT WITH LMA
CENTENNIAL, Colo., March 3, 2006 – The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) applauds the agreement between the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture aimed at keeping discussions about changes to the Beef Checkoff Program out of the courtroom.
Pursuant to a settlement agreement between the parties, a stipulation of dismissal was filed Wednesday with the U.S. District Court in South Dakota, dismissing the claims of most of the plaintiffs in the case, including LMA.
The settlement agreement between the parties provides that “This agreement resolves all outstanding claims in this action … and the settling Plaintiffs hereby release and dismiss all claims set forth in their Third Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, and any other claims arising from the facts set forth therein,” notes the agreement signed by counsel for LMA, CBB and USDA.
Pursuant to the agreement, USDA will use beef checkoff dollars to fund an extensive survey of at least 8,000 cattle producers in the U.S. to “assess producer attitudes toward the beef checkoff program.”
“This is a program that works toward building demand for our end product and, as producers, we know that we absolutely must all work together to make the Beef Checkoff Program responsive to consumers and build demand for beef,” said CBB Chairman Jay O’Brien, a producer in Texas. “We agree that it should be beneficial to expand the sample beyond that of our previous producer attitude surveys to gauge how producers feel about their checkoff program and what they really want from it.”
“We have talked extensively with LMA leaders and clearly share the desire for the same end result for the checkoff – to build demand for beef,” O’Brien said.
The bottom line, said CBB Chief Operating Officer Monte Reese, is that “the producers who pay the checkoff need to have an important role in recommending how those dollars are spent – and they need to know that those investments are based directly on their end desires.”
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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 administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.