By KEVIN WALKER

Michigan Correspondent

BILLINGS, Mont. — In the latest in a seemingly endless tug-of-war, the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), a watchdog group, won a motion this month in federal court to expand its 2016 beef checkoff program lawsuit against the USDA to include at least 13 states, in addition to Montana.

“It essentially means we don't have to go back to each of these states and file claims in each state,” said Bill Bullard, R-CALF CEO. “We chose those states because the groups in those states claim to be private entities, with no government mandate. Some of the state groups are government-mandated entities.

“Our lawsuit is asking that the producers be able to choose whether they want their checkoff dollars to go to the National Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) or the state beef councils. National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) wants to keep that $10 million for themselves; that's their gravy train.”

The NCBA is the primary contractor for the CBB and also owns and operates the Federation of State Beef Councils.

According to Bullard, $40 million goes to the NCBA via the CBB, which he said is all right because the money is used for beef promotion; however, another $10 million is funneled to the NCBA through the state beef councils, which he charges does not entail the same oversight.

According to Bullard, NCBA's alliance with the meatpacking industry ensures that the $10 million not overseen by the CBB – yet disbursed to it – means the NCBA is not using those funds for beef promotion.

In response to this latest development, the NCBA expressed its disappointment with the court ruling and described R-CALF's actions as an “activist-funded crusade against state beef councils.” Further, it stated R-CALF's allegations are “phony” and “without merit” and “serve to divide beef producers and district beef councils” from their work of beef promotion.

“The simple fact is that regular audits of the beef checkoff and NCBA have found both to be compliant with the laws governing the checkoff,” said Kendal Frazier, NCBA CEO. “R-CALF has become nothing more than a front group for activists seeking to divide the industry, lessen beef demand and drive producers out of business.

“Accusations that dollars invested in the Federation of State Beef Councils are being misused are equally false.”

The statement added that R-CALF's efforts are being aided by the Humane Society of the United States, a group NCBA says is opposed to animal agriculture, and other activist groups it says do not have the best interests of beef producers at heart.

Meanwhile, last week another watchdog group, the free market-oriented Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), announced its checkoff transparency lawsuit against the USDA is moving forward. According to the group, its four-year case seeks government audit documents that found gross misuse of the beef checkoff program, but says so far the USDA has refused to release audit and financial documents related to checkoff spending.

According to a statement released last week by OCM, the 2014 lawsuit has begun its summary judgment phase, with a court decision expected in the spring of 2019 as to whether the audit and financial records must be released to the public.

“We strongly support a transparent beef checkoff program that works for the hard-working family farmers and ranchers who pay into the program,” said Fred Stokes, OCM founding member and a Mississippi cattle producer.