Washington - Steve and Jeanne Charter have paid a checkoff fee for cattle from their Montana ranch since it was mandated in 1986. Then they decided enough was enough.
“It really is a taxation without representation issue,” Jeanne Charter said. “We decided we were paying for our own destruction.”
The Charters, who estimate they have paid about $6,000 into the checkoff fund since its inception, are part of a growing insurrection in the beef and pork industry against federally-mandated checkoff fees.
The couple has refused to pay checkoff fees since August and could now be assessed thousands of dollars in civil penalties by the Agriculture Department when a hearing is set.
But the Charters are also helping with petition drive aimed at getting a vote by farmers on whether to make the checkoff voluntary. Pork producers have a similar petition drive underway.
The petition drives come at a time when livestock producers are receiving extremely low prices, particularly hog farmers -- whose prices have dropped to their lowest in 40 years.
“People don't like the idea of being forced to contribute,” said Hugh Espey, a Des Moines, Iowa, spokesman for the Campaign for Family Farms, which is leading the pork drive. “Hog producers feel there is very little accountability because of the mandatory nature of the checkoff.”
In place since 1986, cattle owners are required to contribute $1 per head when they sell their livestock while pork producers put in 45 cents for every $100 of animal value.
They are two of a dozen checkoff programs in place for everything from popcorn, milk and watermelons. Some of those programs, like cotton and milk, have faced questions recently about how money was being spent.
The Agriculture Department's inspector general even recommended suspending the milk program, with its catchy “Got Milk?” ads, because of questions about how money was being used.
Since its enactment, the beef checkoff has collected about $950 million while the pork industry has put in more than $400 million.
The money is split among state and national pork and beef boards and overseen by the Agriculture Department. The actual promotion and advertising are handled by the National Pork Producers Council and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Both organizations say the checkoffs have been good for their industries.
Mark Simpson, executive vice president of the National Pork Board, said industry surveys show 9 out of 10 producers support the checkoff. “We do things that are good for the whole industry,” Simpson said.
Lynn Heintz, a spokesman for the Cattlemen's group, says checkoff dollars have provided much needed funds for research, promotion and advertising, including a new $11.5 million campaign that begins in January.
He said disgruntled emotions among producers have been exascerbated by low prices for livestock.
“It (the checkoff) doesn't have the ability to control some of those fundamentals of the marketplace,” Heintz said.
To force a vote on the issue, the beef producers must collect 120,000 signatures by mid-May. Pork producers must have 21,000 by late April.
“We vote for president every four years,” said John McBride, spokesman for the Livestock Marketing Association, which is the trade association for auction markets. “Our slogan is let those who pay have the final say. This is their money and their program.”
Producers on both sides of the anti-checkoff movement complain that their industries don't represent their interests on Capitol Hill and often favor big corporation farms as well as the packers and processors. They have taken on a grassroots approach in their efforts, sending out mailings and going door-to- door for signatures.
“They're not violating my free speech. They're making me say something that I do not agree with,” said Gary Malone, a rancher in Palisade, Neb.
Jeanne Charter and her supporters recently had signs made that read “Sign A Checkoff Petition. Rein in the NCBA.” They are selling them for $5 a piece to drum up attention.
“We're pretty determined to cut the NCBA down to size. They're too big for their britches,” Mrs. Charter said.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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