Ahead of the Heard
If there is one issue in the Alberta cattle industry that never seems resolved it has to be the “checkoff” or should I say “levy,” being that’s now the legal word since the words “service charge” were purged by the provincial government. That happened under Bill 43 when the Agriculture Minister of the day George Groeneveld terminated non-refundable “service charges” for cattle, sheep, hogs, and potatoes. That Bill was the end of a long struggle between two sectors of the cattle industry, or so it was thought. Recent events have seen the launch of a new initiative that could see checkoff wrangling started up again.
The hope is that since the end of the non-refundable checkoff much has happened, and the issue needs to be re-visited in the best interests of the industry as a whole.
The cattle checkoff issue has been smouldering since it was declared refundable by the provincial government. The feedlot operators had out-lobbied the Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) and the ramifications have now seen the loss of millions of checkoff dollars to that organization.
That has resulted in a perception by cow/calf producers that the feedlot sector is not paying its fair share of industry development and national representation At ABP zone meetings resolutions were passed for a new non-refundable levy that would be in addition to the existing national non-refundable levy. Essentially it would be a return to the non-refundable service charge (or some combination thereof).
It should be said that not all feedlot operators have been demanding checkoff refunds, and in the same light there are cow/calf producers who demand refunds. What seems to infuriate many cattle producers is that up to 80 per cent of the checkoff refunds allegedly go to just half a dozen large feedlot operators. Many producers see that as unfair and akin to “freeloading” by those operators on the backs of those that faithfully pay their checkoffs with no refunds. From a PR perspective those are bad optics and only serves to inflame the issue as the refunded millions keep adding up. It seemed just a matter of time before producers would want to bite back at that perceived unfairness – hence the grassroots drive for a return to a full non-refundable levy.
The ABP has reached out to the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association (ACFA) to discuss the checkoff idea in the hope that they would consider supporting the initiative. Considering the past history of the ACFA on the checkoff issue that may seem like wishful thinking. However, that was then and this is now, and cattle feeders are as aware as anyone that their industry faces a continuous onslaught of issues that need to be dealt with in a timely way with adequate resources. The fact that discussions continue between the two organizations is a good sign. The reality is that if the ACFA is opposed to any changes to the present levy, the chances of establishing an expanded non-refundable levy would be slim indeed. The demise of the non-refundable service charge proved that they are formidable lobbyists with government.
But even if there was complete agreement on an expanded levy by all sectors of the cattle industry, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the Alberta government will agree to the initiative. The Prentice government is gearing up for a provincial election within the next two years or less and the last thing the ruling PC party wants is to attract any unwanted negative political attention from a controversial topic. The fact is checkoffs/levies like taxes are never viewed from a positive perspective by voters.
In the meantime, it would be wise for the ABP to gather all the support it can from every sector of the cattle industry with this levy initiative before it even makes a proposal to the provincial government. I suspect the ABP approach to other sectors and organizations will have to go beyond the usual emotional appeals to industry unity, development and good will. I would suggest that the ABP consider sharing a new non-refundable levy with organizations like the ACFA and the Western Stock Growers’ Association. Maybe the ABP should consider delegating certain responsibilities and representation to other groups and make them part of the checkoff process.
It’s time that all the energy and cost that the checkoff issue has consumed be directed to efforts to support the Alberta cattle industry – just think of all the positive activities that could come from such support and unity. At least we can hope.