Appeals Court Affirms Beef Checkoff Constitutionality
A federal appeals court ruling has ended a six-year legal battle over the Beef Checkoff. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the Beef Checkoff is not in violation of the First Amendment and that speech by state beef councils is government speech.
The lawsuit was filed in Montana in 2016 by Ranchers-Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) who alleged the use of industry assessments collected by state beef councils for advertising and promotional materials was a violation of First Amendment rights of beef producers. In 2018 the USDA entered into Memorandum of Understanding with many state beef councils which gave USDA “significant discretion” to approve or reject any of the Qualified State Beef Council’s promotional activities. Based on the new MOUs, in 2020 the U.S. District Court ruled that speech by the Montana Beef Council and other qualified state beef councils is government speech.
That ruling was appealed, but the three-judge appellate panel rejected R-CALF’s argument the QSBC’s aren’t receiving adequate government oversight.
The appeals court ruling is a “long-awaited victory,” says Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO. “This decision ends a legal battle that has spanned more than six years and exhausted significant Checkoff and industry resources. We are pleased this battle is now behind us.”
The agreements with qualified state beef councils, include Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
In a statement to media, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard said the lawsuit brought a measure of reform to the checkoff.
“The district court agreed that our concern had merit and granted us a preliminary injunction. In response, the USDA instituted new measures to correct its constitutional violation,” Bullard said. “Though we are obviously disappointed with this final ruling, we did, in fact, successfully reform the beef checkoff program."
