NCBA News & Updates

The Supreme Court Has Spoken…Again

By Colin Woodall, NCBA CEO

In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association that the Checko was constitutional. Writing for the majority in the 6-3 decision, Justice Antonin Scalia relied on the government speech doctrine by writing, “The message set out in the beef promotions is from beginning to end the message established by the Federal Government…” In short, since the Checko was established by congressional action and implemented through USDA’s administrative order, the Checko is government speech.

In 2016, R-CALF (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund) led a lawsuit against USDA claiming that the Montana Beef Council, and other State Beef Councils structured as private entities, were not being true to the government speech doctrine. This is because R-CALF did not feel that there was adequate oversight by USDA. For six years, USDA has been working to defend the Checko in this case. Montana ranchers Watty Taylor, Gene Curry and Lee Cornwell showed tremendous leadership and fortitude by joining the Montana Beef Council, Nebraska Beef Council, Texas Beef Council and Pennsylvania Beef Council to intervene in the case and support USDA’s defense. This opened the door for NCBA’s involvement, and one year ago the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vindicated the Checko and dealt another legal defeat to Bill Bullard’s R-CALF. That didn’t stop them, though, and they followed up late last year by petitioning the Supreme Court to hear their case. In late June, the Supreme Court denied R-CALF’s petition, thus ending this case and once again protecting the Checko . The Supreme Court found no reason to re-hash old arguments when it was clear that USDA has appropriate and adequate oversight to ensure that all Checko funds are being spent in compliance with the Beef Promotion and Research Act and the accompanying USDA administrative order that implements the Checko .

While I wrote about R-CALF’s Supreme Court petition late last year, I felt that we needed to talk again about the group that is doing Bill Bullard’s bidding. Public Justice, which was founded in 1982 as Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, has been providing R-CALF with the legal work on this case. All you must do is look at their website to nd that the company they keep is not looking out for the best interests of America’s cattle producers. Public Justice’s sta come from organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States, the Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice, and other groups that have a track record of antagonizing agriculture. In one of R-CALF’s lings with the U.S. Supreme Court, it came to light that they were also doing work for PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Bill Bullard’s friends and attorneys are the same ones representing groups that want to put us out of business. PETA’s mission statement says that they oppose a human-supremacist worldview called “speciesism,” and that they focus their attention on areas such as food animal production, in which they believe the largest number of animals su er the most intensely for the longest periods of time. They routinely use shock tactics and celebrities to draw the media’s attention to their e orts in eliminating animal agriculture, hunting, and animal research. They have been behind hidden-camera e orts on farms, dairies and ranches, in which they get animal extremists to gain employment under false pretense in order to secretly lm what they believe is cruelty to animals. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), much like PETA, supports plant-based diets and has lobbied for moratoriums on CAFOs and large-scale dairies. They criticize us for greenhouse-gas emissions and pollution. ALDF spends its resources trying to defeat “ag-gag” laws because they interfere with their targeting of animal ag operations via undercover videos.

In watching activist groups work in D.C., I know that part of their strategy is to divide industries in order to get them to ght each other. While these intra-industry ghts are going on, attention is diverted from the activist e orts to weaken the targeted industry. Public Justice does not care about the Checko ; nevertheless, given the backgrounds of their sta and connections to animal activists, you can bet that doing whatever it takes to weaken the cattle industry is an opportunity that they will not pass up. The Checko belongs to you. Yes, there are disagreements about the program; but the last thing we should tolerate is allowing a group purporting to represent cattle producers to bring activists into the discussion. As I write this, Public Justice is representing R-CALF in yet another lawsuit against USDA, trying to dismantle the Checko . I’ll keep you posted.

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Herds and Heritage: e History of Georgia’s Cattle Industry is possibly the most noteworthy project undertaken by this organization and its members to document the history of cattle in our great state. Noted historical writer Jackie Kennedy has spent the past two years extensively researching the project while conducting over 140 interviews with breeders, academics and industry leaders to accurately record the many notable contributions that Georgia cattle and its people have made within the cattle industry on a state, regional and national level. e result is an extraordinary, one-of-a kind book that traces the arrival of the rst cattle to enter the state to the present-day, modern beef and dairy industries of the 21st century. It’s a book about the pioneers who centuries ago brought into existence a livelihood and way of life that de nes us and our heritage today. It’s a book about cattle and cattle people, chronicled in 304 pages and captured forever by over 300 photos and images. We are con dent this Georgia’s Cattle Industry is possibly the most noteworthy project undertaken by this organization and its members to document the history of cattle in our great state. Noted Herds and Heritage: e History of Georgia’s Cattle Industry is possibly the most noteworthy project undertaken by this organization and its members to document the history of cattle in our great state. Noted historical writer Jackie Kennedy has spent the past two years extensively researching the project while conducting over 140 interviews with breeders, academics and industry leaders to accurately record the many notable contributions that Georgia cattle and its people have made within the cattle industry on a state, regional and national level. e result is an extraordinary, one-of-a kind book that traces the arrival of the rst cattle to enter the state to the present-day, modern beef and dairy industries of the 21st century. It’s a book about the pioneers who centuries ago brought into existence a livelihood and way of life that de nes us and our heritage today. It’s a book about cattle and cattle people, chronicled in 304 pages and captured forever by over 300 photos and images. We are con dent this Herds and Heritage: e History of Georgia’s Cattle Industry is possibly the most noteworthy project undertaken by this organization and its members to document the history of cattle in our great state. Noted historical writer Jackie Kennedy has spent the past two years extensively researching the project while conducting over 140 interviews with breeders, academics and industry leaders to accurately record the many notable contributions that Georgia cattle and its people have made within the cattle industry on a state, regional and national level. e result is an extraordinary, one-of-a kind book that traces the arrival of the rst cattle to enter the state to the present-day, modern beef and dairy industries of the 21st century. It’s a book about the pioneers who centuries ago brought into existence a livelihood and way of life that de nes us and our heritage today. It’s a book about cattle and cattle people, chronicled in 304 pages and captured forever by over 300 photos and images. We are con dent this history book will be one that you and your family will history book will be one that you and your family will history book will be one that you and your family will cherish for generations to come. cherish for generations to come. cherish for generations to come.

Make your check payable and mail to: Georgia Cattlemen’s Foundation | P.O. Box 27990 | Macon, GA 31221 Make your check payable and mail to: Georgia Cattlemen’s Foundation | P.O. Box 27990 | Macon, GA 31221 Make your check payable and mail to: Georgia Cattlemen’s Foundation | P.O. Box 27990 | Macon, GA 31221