The USDA’s Ag Marketing Service has proposed changes to both the beef and soybean checkoff programs. In special circumstances, the proposed changes would allow producers to request that their assessment be sent to a certified state board or the national checkoff.
Feedstuffs says in most cases, assessments are collected by a certified state board, which keeps a portion of it, before sending the rest on to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board or the United Soybean Board. Some states have laws that allow state assessments and some don’t.
As a result, the Ag Marketing Service decided to add a provision to these promotion and research orders that allow producers to redirect them to national programs in certain cases and ensures that producers pay the full amount. For producers to request their assessments go from a state program to a national one, they have to live in a state that meets two requirements: Either there isn’t a state law requiring assessments to a state board or council, or there is a state law requiring assessments but allows for refunds.