At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, talked with the Vice President of Governmental Affairs of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ethan Lane, about the possibility of moving forward with additional resources for the dollar per head Beef Checkoff.
Our coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.
For years, supporters of the Beef Checkoff have longed for an additional dollar per animal to help with research, education and promotion, but, that could be problematic, as it would likely require opening up the original authorization language that established the Checkoff in the 1980s. As a result, Lane doesn’t see it moving forward at a national level. “You still have this unholy alliance of radical animal liberation activists and groups like R-CALF and Organization for Competitive Markets. Those latter groups, sort of ends justifies the means. They seem to say, ‘yeah, we’re in bed with some of the worst people in the country, but we hate NCBA and the Checkoff so much that it’s worth it to us to do it,’” Lane said. “So long as that cloud is hanging over this stuff, I don’t think there is a lot of folks that are going to have a terrible amount of interest in opening the Act and getting into that process.”
However, Lane added that he is seeing a lot of progression in some states to add dollars for research and promotion at the state level, and the data proves that doing so is a good return on investment for producers. For example, the state of Texas approved an extra dollar a few years ago- so the Texas Beef Council collects the federal dollar as well as a state dollar.
“That dollar goes a long way. It is an important tool that we use to educate consumers and get out there in front of them and move the needle for beef and the value of beef on the plate across the country. You can’t deny that impact,” he said. “Lord knows where we would be if we didn’t have that work happening, both at the national and state level. We are proud to be one of the contractors that implements that work at NCBA.”
Lane says that the NBCA is prepared to defend the program from detractors as they have already seen shrinking support in the Senate as compared to when it was considered in the 2018 Farm Bill. The closest version they’ve been able to test in the House of Representatives was when Congresswoman Victoria Spartz’s proposed amendment to the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2024 was voted down by a large majority.
“There weren’t any people on that list that were serious legislators there in Washington doing business,” Lane said. “That bodes well for the fact that members of Congress understand the value of these programs. There are a couple dozen commodities that have these checkoff programs, and they are invaluable to those industries. I think the votes that we have seen are a reflection of that understanding.”
Lane reiterated the importance of cattle producers to lay down their chore lists and show up to vote. “It is absolutely critical. We are under-represented in rural communities across the country in Congress. It is more important now than ever that you show up in primaries and general elections. You can’t assume that your neighbor is going to show up and vote the right way. You have to show up, you have to get educated, and you have to vote for those real workers who are going to go to Congress and to the Whitehouse and everywhere else and get some things done.”
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