WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed to amend the Beef Research and Promotion rules and regulations to allow producers to direct more checkoff revenue to qualified state beef councils in states where cattle are born and raised.
The amendment will permit cattle producers to pay the $1-per-head assessment, due when cattle are sold, to the qualified state beef council located in the producer’s state of residence prior to sale, subject to certain conditions.
Beef councils in states that have the bulk of cattle feedlot capacity likely would receive less checkoff revenue.
Utilizing the new option would permit a producer who retains ownership of cattle that are shipped to another state for feeding to ensure that the beef council located in the state where the producer resides receives the $1 checkoff rather than the beef council in the state in which the cattle are located when sold.
This could increase checkoff revenue for many beef councils, such as those located in the southeastern United States, that presently do not receive revenue from cattle owned and sold by that region’s producers who use feedlots in western states to finish cattle before selling them to packers.
