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Animal Health Black Ink Book Reviews Caren Cowan Cowboy Heroes Estrays Farm Bureau Minute Global Economy In Memoriam Jingle Jangle Lee Pitts N.M. Federal Lands News N.M. Livestock Board NMCGA Presidents Letter Obituaries Old Times & Old Timers On the Edge of Common Sense Riding Herd Scatterin' the Drive To The Point View From the Backside	Category: Beef Checkoff Now That´s A Checkoff Now That’s A Checkoff — by Lee Pitts Because it has become a litmus test for its diehard supporters, I am often asked to clarify my position on the beef checkoff. It seems you are either friend or foe; you are either in the fraternity or you are not. But I didn´t quit their club . . . they quit me. Before the vote on the third attempt to pass a beef checkoff I wrote in this very newspaper that I was going to vote yes, albeit with some reservations. … Read the rest Gone in a Mushroom Cloud Gone in a Mushroom Cloud — by Lee Pitts Whether you like your beef with or without mushrooms, a recent decision by the Supreme Court is going to leave a decidedly toadstool taste in the collective mouth of the beef industry for a long time. In upholding a previous ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court the Supremes ruled the mushroom checkoff´s advertising program violated the free speech rights of mushroom growers. In doing so it struck down the mushroom checkoff and opened the door to a challenge of the beef and pork checkoffs. … Read the rest Showing Their True Colors Showing Their True Colors — by Lee Pitts It´s getting downright dirty out there. On July 5, the judge in the federal district court in South Dakota hearing the Livestock Marketing Assn.´s case dropped a bombshell. You´ll recall the LMA is challenging the validation process used by the USDA to verify the 145,000 signatures gathered up by the LMA for a referendum. After the mushroom decision, the judge in that case, Judge Kornman, in effect said, why should I rule on whether there should be a vote on the checkoff if it is unconstitutional in the first place?… Read the rest Backlash Backlash — by Lee Pitts Prior to the National Cattlemen´s Beef Association summer conference in Reno, they put out a press release announcing a new wrinkle. According to the release the NCBA officers would host an open microphone forum in Reno and be available to respond to member´s questions and receive input on issues. In other words, they decided to let their members voice their own opinions at a meeting. What´s newsworthy is the organization had to put out a press release to let people know they´d have a chance to express their opinions at an NCBA meeting.… Read the rest You Be The Judge You Be The Judge — by Lee Pitts With at least three serious challenges to the beef checkoff currently in the works the NCBA could soon experience a nearly 90% reduction in its budget. Then it would have to go back to earning its money the old fashioned way: by selling memberships. When they do they´ll find a new competitor in the neighborhood also vying to become the official mouthpiece of this nation´s cattlemen. R-CALF USA, or Ranchers Cattleman Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, came from humble beginnings.… Read the rest It’s Almost Over It´s Almost Over — by Lee Pitts What a difference a decade can make! In 1988 after two earlier defeats, a quarter of a million cattlemen voted to approve a mandatory beef checkoff. Two organizations that worked furiously for the checkoff in those days were the NCA, and the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA). Eleven years later the NCA has transformed itself into the NCBA and has seen the portion of its budget that is derived from checkoff dollars soar to 86%.… Read the rest Spinning Out of Control Spinning Out Of Control — by Lee Pitts If you thought creative usage of the English language, evasive answers and selective memory were practiced only in Washington D.C. you haven´t been reading the press releases spewing forth from NCBA headquarters. These people could give the Clinton White House lessons on spinning the facts. For example… High Approval Ratings ITEM: “What researchers found,” said Chairman of the Cattlemen´s Beef Board, Steve Hailey, “is that 4 out of 10 producers say they´ve never heard of the checkoff, or know very little about it.” This startling revelation came after the LMA announced they would attempt to gather up the signatures necessary for a referendum on the checkoff.… Read the rest « Older Entries Newer Entries »	Categories Aggie Notes Beef Checkoff Black Ink Book Reviews Climate Change COOL Cowboy Heroes Cuts From the Edit Room Floor Endangered Species Environment Estrays Factory Farming Farm Bureau Minute General Global Economy In Memoriam Jingle Jangle Lee Pitts Letters to the Editor Marketing Our Products Merger Nat'l Animal ID System NM Federal Lands News NM Livestock Board NMCGA President's Letter Obituaries Old Times & Old Timers On the Edge of Common Sense People Press Release Press Releases Price Reporting Property Rights Riding Herd Scatterin' the Drive Strategic Alliance To The Point View From the Backside
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