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R-CALF: USDA opt-out doesn’t make Beef Checkoff constitutional
A group of cattle growers unhappy with how the beef checkoff program is being used is urging the courts to take action.
R-CALF USA sued the USDA and Secretary Tom Vilsack in April, claiming half of the money from the dollar-a-head national Beef checkoff was illegally paying for the private speech of the Montana Beef Producers.
“The fifty cents of every checkoff dollar that stays at the Beef Council is not directly supervised as it is in the federal program, and therefore, that is not government speech. It remains private speech.” R-CALF U.S.A. Chief Executive Officer Bill Bullard says Montana Beef Producers currently promote all beef with the check off money, and not just U.S. beef.
In an August 4th motion, USDA told the court it would “clarify” their policy allowing beef producers to opt out of the portion of the checkoff that goes to qualifying state beef councils. Bullard stands by R-CALF’s August 24th motion for summary judgement, saying USDA’s opt-out option doesn’t make it constitutional. Bullard says, “Imposing a new burden on producers in order to correct a constitutional violation does not correct that violation. Our position is the only way to make it constitutional is for producers to opt-in before any of their money is held by the state beef councils to fund their private speech.”
After five months of inaction, Bullard called on the court to issue a summary judgement, or final ruling based on existing law without further court proceedings.
So far, the U.S. District Court in Montana has not responded to R-CALF’s motion and the court has not issued a temporary injunction stopping the beef checkoff, either. Bullard sees no reason to delay a decision, saying, “The United States has essentially acknowledged that the way it’s handling the checkoff results in producers being compelled to pay for speech expressed by private entities, like in this case, the Montana Beef Council, and that is unconstitutional.”
R-CALF believes U.S. producers paying into the checkoff should only be promoting U.S. produced beef, and not imported beef.
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