But Monte Reese, Chief Operating Officer of the Cattlemen’s Beef
Board, said, “I have asked the attorneys at the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
who represent us to request a stay of the judge’s injunction and
begin the appeal process.”

“Obviously, we are disappointed with the decision,” said Beef
Board Chairman Dee Lacey, a cow-calf producer from Paso Robles,
Calif. “But this represents just one step in a lengthy process,
and we’re in it for the long haul.”

Lacey pointed out that the USDA and Department of Justice have
stood strong behind the checkoff program throughout this legal
challenge – brought on by the Livestock Marketing Association
(LMA), the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC), and
three individuals in an earlier petition.

“It’s unfortunate that the plaintiffs in this case have chosen
to distract attention and funding from the real issues at hand
in our industry today to wade through this legal morass,” Lacey
said. “The checkoff represents the key way for us, as producers,
to invest in our futures, and this kind of tactic certainly
seems counterproductive to those efforts.”

In annual independent surveys conducted since the launch of the
beef checkoff 15 years ago, producers have repeatedly voiced
strong support for the program, Lacey said. In the latest
survey, released in January 2002, about 68 percent of producers
said they approved of the Beef Checkoff Program.

For up-to-date information on the beef checkoff case, go to
www.gabeef.org/gca.

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985
Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live
domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable
assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up
to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per
head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which
oversees the national checkoff program, subject to USDA
oversight. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the
program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988
national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for
promotion, education and research programs to improve the
marketing climate for beef.