News

R-CALF seeks injunction on checkoff spending in 13 more states

A group of cattle producers is expanding their challenge of the beef checkoff program and how the dollars are used.  R-CALF USA’s CEO Bill Bullard says, “We used the Montana Beef Council case as a test case.  We believe that the government was unconstitutionally requiring producers to fund the private speech of a private state beef council.”

Bullard tells Brownfield after winning an injunction in Montana, they’ve asked the court to pursue a similar injunction in thirteen other states which would give producers a say in where their checkoff dollars go.  “If the producer chooses not to fund the state program, then all of their money will go directly to the federal program, and that also means that less money will go to the NCBA-controlled Federation of State Beef Councils.”

The other thirteen states include Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association declined to comment since the litigation is ongoing.

Listen to Bill Bullard’s conversation with Brownfield’s Larry Lee here: