Iowa is in the process of bringing back a state beef checkoff. After polling producers and hearing support for a state checkoff, the Legislature updated the state law and the governor signed off last month.
Producers still need to vote on the matter to make it official.
The proposed 50-cent state checkoff would be in addition to the $1 national checkoff that producers pay on each head of cattle sold. States already get half of the national checkoff back to use for promoting beef. The Iowa Beef Industry Council handles the state’s program and puts on promotional programs such the Governor’s Charity Steer Show each August and Iowa’s Best Burger contest, the winner of which will be announced May 2 to kick off Beef Month.
The state checkoff funds could help with that promotional work, and they could begin some new programs. State checkoff revenue would come with fewer restrictions on how it’s used.
“We’ve been hearing a lot from our membership about the need to increase promotion, marketing and education,” said Justine Steverson, director of government relations and public policy for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.
A state checkoff could help with those efforts, and it could also be used to research new technology and improve efficiency, Steverson said.
In a survey the cattlemen’s group conducted late last year, producers said they’d like a state checkoff to fund production research, expand international trade relationships, provide youth educational opportunities and enhance the image of the state’s beef industry.
Of the 900 producers who completed the survey, 80 percent said they supported reinstating the 50-cent state checkoff.
Iowa Beef executive director Chris Freland said she’s happy for the support.
“Any time that we can drive beef exports, enhance the climate for beef and beef products, grow consumer trust and strengthen beef value positively, that's what we try to do,” said Freland, who joined the beef council six months ago.
She said it’s time for an update of the state checkoff. The $1 a head national checkoff doesn’t buy what it did 30 years ago.
Other industries, such as pork, have a checkoff based on the weight of the animal sold. That helps make up for the difference when producers might be selling bigger animals but raising fewer head.
“We’ve stayed static,” Freland said of the per-head checkoff.
Iowa had its own checkoff before the national program began with the 1985 farm bill. Gov. Terry Branstad recently signed off on some updates to the Iowa checkoff law that was already on the books.
Fourteen other states have implemented their own checkoff programs. Some collect 50 cents per head like proposed in Iowa. Idaho, Illinois, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Washington have a 50-cent checkoff. There is a $1 state checkoff in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas, and Missouri is currently considering one.
South Dakota doesn’t have a state checkoff. South Dakota Beef Industry Council Executive Director Suzy Geppert said their goal is to use the dollars they get now in the most efficient way possible.
“Let’s get the most bang for our buck,” she said.
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