| Budget |
| General Beef Checkoff |
| Referendum |
| Who pays? |
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| Budget |
| Q: |
What is the annual budget for the checkoff program? |
| A: |
About $80-$84 million per year including state, national and importer collections. |
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| General Beef Checkoff |
| Q: |
What can beef checkoff dollars be invested in? |
| A: |
Beef checkoff dollars can be invested in programs for promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information. The intention of the checkoff is to stimulate others to sell more beef and stimulate consumers to buy more beef. This can be done through initiatives such as advertising, public relation efforts, education programs and new product development. |
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| Q: |
What can't beef checkoff dollars do? |
| A: |
By law, beef checkoff funds cannot be used to influence government policy or action, including lobbying. |
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| Q: |
Who governs the Nebraska Beef Checkoff Program? |
| A: |
Nebraska's investment of beef checkoff dollars is overseen by a nine-member board of directors, in which the directors are elected to represent their district by their peers. |
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| Referendum |
| Q: |
When is a referendum held to determine the continuation of the checkoff? |
| A: |
According to the Beef Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may call for a referendum when 10 percent of producers request it through a formal petition process. |
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| Who pays? |
| Q: |
Who pays the checkoff? |
| A: |
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. Producers and importers alike pay the $1-per-head or equivalent beef checkoff each time they sell a bovine animal, regardless of its age, sex or breed. |
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| Q: |
Do packers pay? |
| A: |
Any packer or producer who owns cattle for more than 10 days prior to slaughter must pay the dollar assessment. |
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| Q: |
How do I know that everyone is contributing? |
| A: |
The Nebraska Beef Council is charged by law to monitor all cattle transactions and assure uniform payment of the checkoff assessment. NBC also is required to turn over to the Beef Board the names of any producers or collecting points that refuse to pay the checkoff for action that can include a restraining order and a civil penalty of up to $5,500 per transaction. |
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