Beef leader says producers are unconcerned about industry politics

By TIM HEARDEN

Capital Press

Despite recent controversies, a growing number of cattle producers are satisfied with the work of the Beef Checkoff, a survey has found.

In all, 72 percent of beef and dairy producers queried for the Cattlemen's Beef Board approve of the checkoff, up four points from a similar survey done last winter.

More than 6-in-10 producers believe the checkoff is well managed, helps contribute to their profitability and allows their viewpoints to be represented, according to a beef board news release.

In addition, more than 7-in-10 trust that the checkoff is there for them in a crisis and is valuable even in a down market, the release stated.

"I think what it indicates is producers continue to understand the checkoff," said Lynn Heinze, the beef board's executive director of communication. "They're aware of what the programs are and they also believe it does work for the industry and for their own operations."

Established in the mid-1980s, the checkoff collects $1 for each head of cattle sold. The money goes to research and general promotion of beef. In January, 68 percent of producers gave high marks to checkoff programs.

The rise in confidence among cattle and dairy operations came amid widespread debate over the planned restructuring of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the largest contractor for checkoff work.

State beef councils have resisted calls by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and others to sever ties with the NCBA to avoid the appearance of being influenced by the organization's lobbying arm.

The survey is proof that producers haven't lost faith in the councils' efforts, said Scott George, chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils.

"The results of what we're doing for the whole industry speak volumes," George said. "The fact that producers recognize we're doing good work should be a consideration in this whole discussion."

But the checkoff's approval rating is about where it normally is, Heinze said. In open-ended questions about what producers think is important, industry politics doesn't rank high on the list, he said.

"The underlying understanding and support for checkoff remains high," he said. "It does point out that as the producers themselves say, we need to continue to provide them with information about the checkoff and the programs the checkoff supports."

The latest survey, done in June by Aspen Media and Market Research, found that 72 percent of respondents considered themselves "somewhat" or "very" well informed about the checkoff program.

Producers were asked how they might vote on six proposed changes: increasing the assessment by $1; exempting the checkoff on any animal sold for $50 or less; having a referendum on the checkoff every seven years; having the beef board directly manage programs; allowing beef councils to organize regionally; and revising which organizations can nominate producers to serve on the beef board.

Producers favored all the changes except for the assessment increase, for which a plurality -- 49 percent against, 43 percent in favor -- were opposed, according to the release.

Online

Producer attitude survey results: http://www.beefboard.org:8000/library/files/Beefmemo10_2brev.pdf