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The United States Supreme Court announced in late May it would hear arguments relating to the federal beef checkoff that a circuit court ruled unconstitutional. The hearing should occur during the latter part of this year with a decision expected during the summer or fall of 2005.

Ohio Farm Bureau joined the American Farm Bureau, nine other state Farm Bureaus, 30 state attorneys general and more than 30 other industry organizations in a friend of the court brief asking that the high court hear the case.

No matter what the court decides, the impact of that ruling will have far-reaching consequences, according to David White, OFBF’s director of commodity relations.

With other livestock commodity checkoffs also being ruled unconstitutional by various lower courts, the Supreme Court’s decision on the beef issue will determine if similar pork and dairy checkoff programs will continue, White said.

"We want to emphasize that OFBF and AFBF policy supports checkoff programs," White said. "The Supreme Court’s decision won’t just relate to beef, but it will impact the entire agricultural industry."

Cattle producers have supported a checkoff since 1922. Recent producer market research conducted by an independent firm indicates that nearly 70 percent of beef producers support the current $1-per-head beef checkoff program.

Producers who challenged the beef checkoff argue it doesn’t help them because it’s too generic, White said. "They see themselves as specialty producers and don’t see how the checkoff provides a benefit to them. What they don’t understand is that, in many cases, it was checkoff funds that helped develop these specialty products in the first place."

Myron Williams, a South Dakota beef producer and vice chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils Division of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said: "Thanks to the checkoff’s organized and proactive public response, confidence in U.S. beef remains high – in line with pre-BSE levels – despite the challenge a single case of BSE presented. Cattlemen recognize the valuable role the beef checkoff plays in defending the industry from food safety and nutrition challenges."

Because checkoff funds can only be used for promotion, education and research, the beef checkoff program can’t pay to defend itself in court, so the U.S. departments of justice and agriculture are defending the government program. However, many other producer organizations throughout the United States have contributed financially to the program’s defense.

While the case is being decided, funds will continue to be collected and used by the federal beef checkoff program. The challenge against the program was filed by the Livestock Marketing Association, the Western Organization of Resource Councils and three individual beef producers. Defendants in the case include the USDA, the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, as well as the Nebraska Cattlemen, which is leading a group of producers as interveners in the case.