Ranchers debate proper uses of checkoff funds

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Leaders of beef and cattle organizations say they need to present a united voice if they want to increase the beef checkoff and make it more effective.

National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Bill Donald, U.S. Cattlemen's Association Vice President Chuck Kiker, Cattlemen's Beef Board Vice Chair Weldon Wynn and Federation of State Beef Councils Director Sid Viebrok fielded checkoff questions at the Washington Cattlemen's Association's annual convention.

Donald addressed previous controversies -- the beef board hired new CEO Polly Ruhland in September to replace Tom Raney, who resigned after concerns arose over eavesdropping on association conference calls. He said the association does its work in a transparent fashion and wants to include all checkoff payers.

"We believe producer support for the checkoff is job one," Donald said. "I will pledge to everyone in this room that we are going to be as accountable and transparent as we can be."

Kiker said the oversight is better, with checkoff money receiving more scrutiny than before.

The checkoff currently charges producers a dollar per head of cattle, but some leaders and producers would like to see that increased to $2 per head.

Kiker said one of the main needs is to separate policy from the checkoff. He said many members of the industry would resist raising the checkoff because it subsidizes the Cattlemen's Beef Association, and many producers don't like the association's policies.

"You're not going to just get an increase in the checkoff," he said. "There's some folks that want to see some things changed in how the checkoff is managed and how it's delivered."

Donald said he respectfully disagreed with Kiker's position that support to pass the increase is lacking because the Federation of State Beef Councils is under the same umbrella as the board's policy division.

There isn't a unified voice among producers to increase the checkoff, Kiker said, and that needs to be addressed.

"We are fixing to hit in the next few years a stride that could make us money that will set our kids up to be able to come into this industry and keep producers feeding this country and a lot of other countries in the world," he said.

Dal Dagnon, cattle producer in Tonasket, Wash., said the checkoff is a good thing, but the industry is having difficulty using it.

He'd like to see money from the checkoff go toward supporting the animal traceability program developed by Washington State Veterinarian Leonard Eldridge, but the leaders said traceability wouldn't count as research or market development. Dagnon thinks it could be a pilot program for the nation.

"We're hamstringing ourselves with regulations and policy," he said. "We ought to be able to use our checkoff dollars to increase beef sales through a program like that, being able to identify where the cattle are going and where they came from. It's something that needs to be done to unify the entire industry."