Cattle Producers File Lawsuit Against Missouri Department of Agriculture — Stop Deeply Flawed Beef Checkoff Referendum

Farmers Raise Serious Legal Concerns about Election Process

Cattle Producers File Lawsuit Against Missouri Department of Agriculture

to Stop Deeply Flawed Beef Checkoff Referendum
Farmers Raise Serious Legal Concerns about Election Process

Press Release—February 11, 2016

On February 10th, the Missouri Rural Crisis Center filed a lawsuit asking the Cole County Circuit Court to issue an injunction to stop the Missouri Department of Agriculture from proceeding with the current referendum process to impose a $1 per head state beef checkoff tax until it complies with state law requirements including obtaining public comment on rules for conducting the referendum.

“The Missouri Department of Ag (MDA) is trying to shove through a bogus election to impose a 100% increase in beef checkoff taxes on all of Missouri’s 50,000 cattle producers,” said Rhonda Perry, cattle producer from Armstrong, MO and program director of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. “The Department is proceeding in utter disregard of our legal and constitutional rights as producers. This is just wrong.”

In the legal filing, the Missouri Rural Crisis Center argued that the Ag Department’s referendum process disenfranchises voters, discourages producers from registering and voting, dilutes the vote of many producers and undermines the integrity of the election.

“This is government at its worst–the Department is creating an election process behind closed doors that is in opposition to state law and disenfranchises voters. If producers are being asked to vote on a massive tax increase, the very least that the Department can give us is a fair election where all eligible producers are able to be part of the voting process,” said Darvin Bentlage, cattle producer from Barton County MO.

Missouri cattle producers are already paying over $2 million every year into the federal beef checkoff. This proposed state beef checkoff would double that amount and force Missouri cattle producers to pay over $4 million each year in beef checkoff taxes; $3 million of which will be going to the Missouri Beef Industry Council, which claims it is a totally private entity that is not obligated under state law to disclose records to producers on how the money is spent.

To date, the Department of Agriculture has refused to hold any public rulemaking process for conducting the election even though the results of this important vote will impact over 50,000 beef producers across the state, their operations and their local economies.

Cattle producers can contact the Missouri Rural Crisis Center at (573) 449-1336 for more information about the new proposed beef checkoff and the referendum process.