FORT MACLEOD, Alta. – More beef check-off money would be collected from cattle sales if Alberta’s brand inspection agency was in charge.
That was the opinion of those who voted during a fall Alberta Beef Producers meeting in Fort Macleod Nov. 2 to support giving Livestock Inspection Services (LIS) the authority to collect the $3 levy.
A five year LIS study of brand inspections released in 2006 estimated that more than $450,000 in potential check-off fees is lost annually.
ABP, which now collects the checkoff, argues the figure is closer to $130,000.
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Some suspect that much of the lost money, which is also called slippage, is the result of private sales, although LIS manager Dave Moss said he isn’t sure where it occurs.
“There is certainly going to be slippage,” said ABP delegate Brent Carey.
However, he disagreed with turning responsibility over to another organization.
The province’s agriculture products marketing act makes ABP responsible for collection, although it also allows ABP to designate the responsibility to someone else.
“We are certainly open to input on this but we have a legal responsibility to collect it and we owe it to our producers to handle that,” Carey said.
Norm Ward of Granum said putting LIS in charge of collecting the checkoff would reduce administration costs because it already has a database of producers who have traded cattle.
“If we were able to collect and refund, it is just another line item that LIS does,” he said.
The checkoff was made refundable under provincial legislation that will take effect April 1, 2010.
Producers who want a refund can submit a form to ABP. Refunds will be provided monthly.
“We have no idea what the volume of monthly requests will be,” said ABP chair Rick Burton.
Producers may submit requests for all or a portion of the checkoff within two months after the end of the month when the cattle were sold. Submissions must include the transaction number on the statement from the auction or packing plant.
Dealers, auctions and processors will have to submit their transaction information to ensure the cattle were sold.
The minimum refund is $100. The ABP office will wait until the producer file has accumulated $100 or return the amount at the end of the fiscal year April 1.
ABP will get a five cent per head collection fee from auctions and another five cents to cover administration costs.
The applicant does not have to give a reason for requesting a refund.
The check-off question has created a budget quandary for ABP because potential refunds could result cost the organization millions of dollars.
Burton said the organization is committed to a $5 million budget, down from the $13 million it collected last year. Programs have been slashed and there are concerns about meeting national commitments.
“Regardless of what our critics say about our provincial activities, I feel very strongly that the national association is absolutely critical to the survival of the industry in Canada” he said in an interview.
Of the $3 collected for every animal sold, $1 is sent to the national check-off agency, formally called the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency, to fund the Canada Beef Export Federation, Beef Information Centre and the Beef Cattle Research Council. Last year, more than $3 million was submitted to the agency.
ABP’s annual $1.4 million allotment to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association also comes out of the checkoff. Alberta funds about half the CCA budget.
“The handwriting is very clear. Their activities are very much in jeopardy,” Burton said.
