In R-CALF vs. Sonny Perdue, a magistrate judge granted summary judgement to the government and 15 state beef councils targeted by R-CALF, who alleged checkoff dollars were being used to support Canadian and Mexican beef.
“We are pleased with today’s opinion, which allows state beef councils to continue the important work of beef promotion and research.
Although this case is far from complete, this was a crucial step toward ensuring state beef councils retain the important ability to direct their investments at the grassroots level,” said Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CEO.
The decision will now be sent to the federal district court for a final ruling.
“The Beef Checkoff continues to provide important benefits for cattle producers in the form of research and promotion that returns nearly $12 for every dollar invested in the program,” Woodall said.
“The Beef Checkoff is weakened, and the benefits it provides our industry are put in jeopardy, by lawsuits such as this one.
We’re committed to defending state beef councils from these attacks and ensuring producers at the grassroots level continue to determine how checkoff dollars are invested in their states.”
