USDA chief pulls back beef checkoff proposal

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack scrapped a proposal to establish another beef checkoff on top of the existing beef checkoff program. The Missouri Cattlemen’s Association is pleased with Sec. Vilsack’s decision to listen to the outcry from the nation’s cattle farmers and ranchers. “The secretary asked for comments and responded appropriately to the concerns expressed by those of us who invest our dollars into the beef checkoff program. MCA considers this announcement to be good news,” said MCA President Jim McCann, who is a cattle rancher from Miller, Missouri. The new checkoff would have functioned under the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996. The Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 governs the current beef checkoff. MCA expressed “vehement” opposition to the creation of a new beef checkoff under the 1996 Act...more