Beef Check-Off Vote

The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) has initiated a referendum to increase Ohio’s Beef Checkoff from $1 to $2 per head. Voting by mail ballot is underway with in-person voting set for March 18, 19, and 20 at the Ohio Department of Agriculture and County Extension offices.

Ballots for voting by mail must be postmarked by March 20 and are available on the OCA website at www.ohiocattle.org or can be picked up at County Extension offices. Eligible voters must have marketed cattle subject to the assessment in the 2013 calendar year. There is no minimum age for voting, and so 4-H and FFA members that have marketed cattle in the 2013 calendar year are also eligible to vote.

OCA supports the work of the Ohio Beef Council that invests checkoff dollars to build beef demand and believes increasing those shrinking resources is the right thing to do for the future of Ohio’s beef industry. OCA has initiated the referendum because the beef council by law cannot advocate for a checkoff increase, although OCA will not benefit from increasing the checkoff. The mission of OCA is very different from the mission of the Ohio Beef Council. And checkoff funds cannot be used to influence policy issues. That is solely OCA’s role.

Today the existing checkoff dollar purchases only 44 cents of what it did when the checkoff began in 1985. The checkoff is also receiving less money as cattle numbers have declined to the lowest point since 1952. Just $1 more will increase the budget 300 percent, from $305,000 to approximately $900,000 and yet it will still remain one of the smallest checkoffs by amount and value of the commodity. And the additional $1 will be refundable, should a producer want to request a refund. Ohio is not the first state to propose an increase as several other populous states have already approved checkoff increases or are in the process of holding a referendum to increase their in-state checkoff.

All of the additional $1 will stay in Ohio to support beef demand building programs right here where nearly 12 million Ohio consumers reside. These consumers are looking for answers about where their food comes from, how it is produced, and if it is safe and nutritious. These additional funds will not be used for administrative purposes or to hire new staff, but rather they will be invested in reaching consumers with beef messages and to counter activists and anti-meat groups. They will fund programs including farm tours for health professionals, chefs, food writers and bloggers who influence how others think about beef. And they will extend beef’s presence in Ohio classrooms and help market beef to millennial parents, the next generation of beef consumers.

For more information on the Ohio Beef Checkoff referendum contact the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association at 614-873-6736 or visit www.ohiocattle.org.