Beef Check Off in Missouri Needs Calls Now!

Session ends tomorrow….Halleluyah! But we aren’t safe while they are still in session….

Just spoke with Tim at Missouri Rural Crisis and this foolish language is still in Senate Bill 506 which will be on the floor either today or tomorrow. Their email alert copied below says only 8 Senators need to be called, but actually ALL Senators need to be called about this. More money out of cattle and dairymen’s hands and into the coffers of pseudo-marketing experts is NOT helpful to actual producers. Please pass this on and make calls ASAP:

There’s good news, but work still has to be done. Local Control and the bad Sunshine Act langauge were both taken off SB 506–Well Done!However, Senate Bill 506 still has the bad check off tax language, and it just passed the House—now it is up to the Senate. The Senators listed below can stop this thing!

Please call the Senators below TODAY!!!—Tell them to take the bad beef check off tax language out of Senate Bill 506 & House Bill 1326, or VOTE NO!!!If you made the calls and sent emails on this earlier—thank you! But, if you can call and email again, NOW is the time! There are only 8 Senators that need calls!

Multi-national, corporate agriculture and retailers LOVE the Beef Check-Off Tax. They get advertising for free and reap the benefits—all out of the pocket of independent cattle producers. And, the organizations that reap the benefits of the current Beef Check-Off Tax also OPPOSE many policies that are good for family farms, our communities and our food supply—like Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and a more transparent, competitive and fair marketplace. And, NOW THEY WANT MORE!

THE FACTS ABOUT THE BEEF TAX:

This mandatory tax on every head of cattle sold in MO would amount to millions of dollars that producers could be spending in their local economies or on their farming operations.
Beef producers work hard for thier money and are opposed this new check off tax.
Missouri cattle producers are already paying over $2 million per year in the mandated federal Beef Check-Off program. We don’t need any more unaccountable beef check-off programs and taxes.
Contrary to what the supporters of the new beef check off tax say, it is not voluntary; If producers are forced to pay into a program—it’s MANDATORY and nothing more than a tax!
Mandatory check-off programs are government programs, NOT producer programs. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that mandatory check-off programs are “government speech”.
Legislators should not go on record supporting a new beef check off tax on Missouri cattle farmers.

Please call the Senators below TODAY!!!—Tell them to take the bad beef check off tax language out of Senate Bill 506 & House Bill 1326, or VOTE NO!!!

Senator Jason Holsman: (573) 751-6607   Jason.Holsman@senate.mo.gov
Senator Mike Parson:   (573) 751-8793   MParson@senate.mo.gov
Senator David Pearce:   (573) 751-2272   David.Pearce@senate.mo.gov
Senator Scott Sifton:   (573) 751-0220   Scott.Sifton@senate.mo.gov
Senator Rob Schaaf: (573) 751-2183   Rob.Schaaf@senate.mo.gov
Senator Mike Kehoe:   (573) 751-2076     Mike.Kehoe@senate.mo.gov
Senator Wayne Wallingford:  (573) 751-2459     Wayne.Wallingford@senate.mo.gov
Senator Jolie Justus:   (573) 751-2788     Jolie.Justus@senate.mo.gov

Thank YOU and please let us know if you get any feedback!