Category: Checkoff Program Reform

MO Bad News: NCBA, cattlemen’s worst nightmare, wants $1 increase in Beef Tax

Mike Callicrate

Mike Callicrate owner of Callicrate Cattle Co. was recently interviewed by George Sholtz with Big Country 99 The Rooster (KUNQ) Assumed by its name to be an advocate for the cattle industry, the NCBA is actually the independent cattlemen’s worst nightmare and now want to increase the Missouri Beef Checkoff to $2. With its control of the Beef Checkoff Program, the NCBA is: Undermining every effort to restore competition to U.S. livestock markets. Facilitating trade agreements that are Read More …

America Returns to the Jungle

Mike Callicrate

A safe and secure food supply is essential to a free society The United States was always able to feed itself. Except for a few non-essentials like coffee, tea and bananas, we were self-sufficient. The British government, along with their corporate partner, the East India Company, saw unlimited potential to extract wealth through the American colonies. Our Founding Fathers, willing to fight for our freedom and sovereignty, risked their lives and the lives of many citizens, to save Read More …

The Beef Checkoff: A Broken and Failed Program

Mike Callicrate

Organization for Competitive Markets In the early 80’s, after several years of losing market share to other meats, especially chicken,U.S. beef cattle producers initiated a Beef Checkoff Program (Checkoff Program) to promote beef. The program came into being on the third referendum and was included in the Farm Bill in 1985 as the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985. In 1996, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) became the prime contractor of the Checkoff Program, receiving the Read More …

Eleven years ago a few good cattlemen stood up for justice in an Alabama courtroom.

Mike Callicrate

Eleven years ago a few cattlemen stood up for justice in an Alabama courtroom. The jury awarded the cattlemen $1.28 billion in damages for Tyson/IBP’s manipulation of the cattle market. Before the court could consider injunctive relief, Judge Lyle B. Strom reversed the jury verdict and ordered the cattlemen to pay Tyson/IBP’s court costs of $80,000. The Supreme Court refused to hear the cattlemen’s case for fair markets in favor of the Anna Nicole Smith family feud case. Read More …

OCM Repeats Call For U.S. Withdrawal From The WTO

Mike Callicrate

For Immediate Release July 3, 2015 OCM Repeats Call For U.S. Withdrawal From the WTO An Independence Day Press Re-Release: The OCM press release of four years ago that follows, reflects our frustration with the WTO decision made at that time, relative to the U.S. ability to implement its own mandatory COOL. The press release reflected concern for the conflict of special interest ridden WTO dispute resolution processes, and how they could adversely impact the U.S. in the Read More …

Where Did It All Go?

Mike Callicrate

– by Lee Pitts, Livestock Market Digest Sometimes you have to really dig to find a story. And then sometimes it finds you. In the past few weeks I’ve received several phone calls from people associated with the beef checkoff. This alone is a minor miracle because I haven’t exactly been on speaking terms with these folks. Suffice it to say, I’m not on the Christmas card list of the NCBA or the Beef Board. At first I Read More …

Letter from Langdon: Blinded by the Light

Richard Oswald

County of Origin Labeling didn’t hurt the Canadian cattle market, a new study of U.S. meat prices says. Big meatpackers would just to prefer to keep customers in the dark about where their meat comes from. The American people seem to be ready to take off the blindfold and see where our meat is coming from. Your family is hungry. They rely on you to feed them. And you want to provide them with healthy, safe, good-quality food Read More …

Nebraska Senator Opens Door to Chinese Meat Racket

Mike Callicrate

For Immediate Release: February 10, 2015 Nebraska Senator Opens Door to Chinese Meat Racket Senator Ken Schilz is introducing two bills before the Nebraska Ag Committee this week that could turn the State of Nebraska into a massive industrial Chinese hog factory. Working hand- in-hand with Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, the largest pork company in the world, Senator Schilz is facilitating the Chinese government’s five-year-plan to feed China while greatly reducing our own food security. The legislation opens the Read More …