American Rancher January 30, 2007 If it were possible 92 percent of U.S. cattle producers strongly or somewhat agree, that all or a part of Beef Checkoff revenue should be spent only to promote U.S. beef. Those opinions are included in a survey of over eight-thousand producers conducted by the Gallup Organization on behalf of the USDA. The survey was conducted as part of a settlement agreement between the Livestock Marketing Association and the Cattlemen's Beef Board as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring the checkoff constitutional.
Randall Jones of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service says current law won't allow just the promotion of U.S. beef with checkoff dollars.
Jones: "Because we are collecting assessments on import live animals as well as beef and beef products we are prohibited from promoting only U.S. beef."
When told that promoting only U.S. beef would mean that the assessment on beef importers would have to eliminated or reduced, 75 percent of producers still said they would strongly or somewhat agree to promoting only U.S. beef with all or a portion of the Beef Checkoff. If that is what the U.S. beef industry would like to do them USDA Undersecretary Chuck Lambert says;
Lambert: "In that case it would up to the industry to lobby to change the law to bring about a change in the authorizing legislation."
The Cattlemen's Beef Board says the assessment on imports totals about eight to nine million dollars annually representing about 10-11% of the check off's budget.
I'm Bob Hoff.