CALGARY — A national beef checkoff is being delayed until Alberta holds a vote on its provincial levy this month, said the president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
Ken Cameron said the checkoff will not start until a producer vote determines whether Alberta’s checkoff should be mandatory and nonrefundable. Federal legislation allowing a national checkoff was passed last year.
If a national checkoff was put in place the CCA could collect about $1 million on imported cattle as well as domestic animals. The money would be used for promotion and research, said Cameron.
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Alberta’s checkoff pays for those two areas plus lobbying. Promotion handled by the Beef Information Centre receives 74 cents of the $1.50 Alberta collects on each animal sale.
Eligible Alberta cattlemen will vote in mid-February at district agriculturalists’ offices with former Farmers’ Advocate Cliff Downey acting as returning officer.
The Alberta Cattle Commission, which collects the levy, had planned a mail-in vote. Plans were changed when the commission learned it would cost $200,000. The new plan using the DA offices will cost between $60,000 and $70,000, said commission chair Larry Sears.
A resolution passed at the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association convention in Calgary protested the change of plans.
Dave Plett of the cattle feeders said they weren’t consulted on this decision after meetings last September among cattle organizations to discuss how the vote should be handled. They feel a mail-in ballot is the fairest way.
Lots at stake
The cattle feeders have a big stake in the vote because they buy and sell a large number of cattle each year and are responsible for collecting the checkoff. In the county of Lethbridge in southern Alberta where some of the province’s largest feedlots are located, 600,000 head are bought and sold each year.
Between 40,000 and 50,000 people are eligible to vote. Brian Rhiness of the marketing council that administers the province’s commissions and boards said there is no complete list of Alberta cattle producers but one could be compiled from national tripartite registrations, Crow Benefit offset lists and cattle commission membership rolls.
John Vander Heyden of Picture Butte said if this vote is not perceived to be fair, the checkoff issue could end up in court again. Several groups took the commission to court last year in a dispute over the nonrefundable aspect of the checkoff. The case was dismissed and the commission agreed to hold a plebiscite to settle the issue.
