Cattle producers in California will have an opportunity to vote on establishing a council to promote their industry. On Sept. 14, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 965 that will allow producers to vote on establishing a new $1, refundable checkoff and create the California Cattle Council.
California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) supported the bill that was sponsored by Sen. Mike McGuire (D). Dave Daley, CCA president, said passing the bill wasn’t as easy as expected and required effort to work through the process with urban legislators.
“It’s just not their business,” he said. “I get that, but we had to work hard to make sure everyone on both sides of the aisle really understood the objectives here.”
Daley said the strongest opposition came from groups like the Humane Society of the United States and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“That was the battle we had to get around in Sacramento, and we did, thanks to grassroots producers talking to their legislators and sending letters of support. Those opposition groups don’t want cattle producers to be able to tell their stories! That should tell producers how important this opportunity is to California cattlemen and cattlewomen,” Daley told WLJ.
Among the objectives are to collect an assessment when cattle are sold with the funds to be used for education and promotion of issues related to cattle, or as Daley specified, live animals. He noted, “We’ve got a really effective beef council, we’re very proud of what they do, and we are supportive of that, but they can only work on beef-related issues.”
Likewise, he said the CCA does a great job, but its primary role is lobbying at the state capitol.
“This money is not for lobbying; it is for education,” Daley said. He used the example of the rice industry that has repositioned itself, using commission funds as one of the “good guys” in terms of environmental efforts including bird habitat and water quality.
“I think as cattlemen we just never had the resources to tell the story that we do so well, and I think this gives us that opportunity.”
The council will include active producers from the beef and dairy industries who are not required to be a member of any other organization. These producers will review proposals for funding and award contracts based on how the work aligns with the objectives of cattle producers and the council. Like other commodity groups in the state, the California Department of Food and Agriculture will have ultimate oversight of the Cattle Council.
Daley said the Cattle Council money will stay entirely in the state and is not associated with USDA or the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). While CCA is affiliated with NCBA, Daley said, “We’ve worked hard to draw distinctions between this and the national program. This is not a USDA- or NCBA-driven program. This is a cattle producer program and I think it is really important producers understand that.
“I’m really excited about this. Potentially we’ve got a lot of people in this state and we don’t have the resources to tell our story effectively. This is the first change to bring some new resources to bear that we haven’t had to really work on our story in Sacramento.”
In a short explanation of the measure, CCA explained what the bill will and will not do.
What SB 965 does:
• Directs the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to hold a vote of the state’s beef producers to determine if an additional $1 should be assessed on the sale of live cattle to fund the Council no later June 1, 2020.
• If the Council is approved through a referendum of the state’s producers, it will create a separate marketing and promotion agency to focus on issues important to California cattle producers; not just the marketing and promotion of beef.
• Ensures the Council is not subject to the federal Beef Checkoff Program.
• Provides a refund provision that cannot be repealed for producers not wanting to participate.
• If approved by voters, it establishes a board comprised of cattle producers to direct the activities of the Council and select funding priorities.
• Establishes proper oversight by CDFA including the ability to call a majority vote of the state’s producers to terminate the Council.
• Prohibits the Council or an agent of the Council from lobbying on the Council’s behalf.
SB 965 does not:
• Enact a tax. Only a vote of the state’s ranchers can form the Council and assess the fee, and even then the legislation guarantees the fee is refundable.
• Allow the Council to disparage another product. In fact, the Council can conduct research in support of all types of beef and dairy production.
• Overshadow the good work being done by the California Beef Council. The Cattle Council will focus on issues related to live cattle production while the Beef Council will continue to focus their efforts on beef promotion.
Daley told WLJ details on when a vote will be held are still being worked out, but it is likely to happen by next spring. He noted that although passed by the assembly and signed by the governor it doesn’t officially become law until January. Once a date is set for the referendum vote, anyone who sold cattle in the previous year, be it one head or several hundred, will be allowed to vote. — Rae Price, WLJ editor
