Back in February of this year, the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Mike Lee (R-UT) led a bipartisan effort to reform agricultural checkoff programs. The Act would make checkoff programs more responsive to the farmers who are required to contribute to them.
Efforts are currently underway to put together an appropriations package to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But according to a National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) podcast, one Senator is using this opportunity to attack the Beef Checkoff. NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs, Ethan Lane, explains what is happening.
Lane explains why the OFF Act is so harmful to the beef industry.
NCBA has prepared a grassroots sign-on letter for producers in opposition to the OFF Act.