IBA encourages a "Yes"
vote to keep dollars in the state for beef education and promotion.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois beef producers will have the opportunity
to approve a state beef checkoff program, controlled by Illinois cattlemen and
women, that could generate additional funds to promote beef in Illinois.
Petitions signed by more than 700 producers were submitted to the
Illinois Department of Agriculture requesting a referendum on the Illinois Beef
Market Development Act. If approved, the 50-cent per-head that producers would
pay into a state checkoff program
would supplement the national checkoff program. The program will complement and
extend current research, promotion of Illinois-raised beef, and efforts to
educate the youth of our industry while strengthening beef demand in the
marketplace. The Illinois Department of Agriculture will oversee the referendum
process.
“Our current national
checkoff started in 1986 and its buying power has been eroded by 56 percent due
to inflation over the years,” said Reid Blossom, IBA executive vice president.
“Just like input costs on
the farm, the cost of promotion and education has risen. The industry must
invest in order to reach Illinois consumers and ensure a viable beef business
for years to come, and the proposed Illinois Beef Checkoff would help in a number
of areas.”
The Illinois Beef
Checkoff is a voluntary 50-cent assessment on all beef cattle in Illinois
collected at the time of sale. The funds from this collection will be
controlled by farmers serving on IBA’s Checkoff Division of the Board of
Governors and any cattleman not wishing to participate can have their full
assessment refunded.
Alan Adams, a beef
producer from Sandwich, said for him, reinstating the Illinois Beef Checkoff
makes sense.
“Our industry is up
against tremendous adversity,” Adams said. “The national checkoff has been
successful in combatting those challenges, but more resources are needed to
more aggressively confront beef industry issues that are critical to our way of
life. The fast completion of the petition process and early backing from the
Vote Yes coalition shows that Illinois beef producers recognize the need to
further support our great industry.”
All beef producers in
Illinois are entitled to one vote in the referendum. A producer is any person,
regardless of age, who has owned or sold cattle in the previous year or
presently owns cattle.
The referendum will be held during a 12-day window in February 2015
offering three ways a producer can cast a vote. Illinois producers are strongly
encouraged to vote in-person at any Illinois FSA county office from Feb. 16-20
or at the Illinois Beef Expo in Springfield Feb. 19-22. If a producer is unable
to access in-person voting locations, a mail-in ballot may be downloaded from
the IBA website, www.illinoisbeef.com, between Feb. 16-27 and postmarked no
later than close of business Friday, Feb. 27, 2015.
Producers with questions about the procedures and eligibility for
voting in this referendum or for more information on how funds generated by the
assessment can be used, can contact the Illinois Beef Association at
217-787-4280 or visit www.illinoisbeef.com.
Illinois beef producers are being asked to consider a state checkoff in
an effort to increase promotion and education efforts for beef.
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