The organization will now collect $5.50 per head
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) delegates recently voted in favour of a significant change to their checkoff dollars.
During the organization’s annual general meeting last week, BFO members voted 87 per cent in support of increasing their checkoff by $1.50/head sold. The change will bring the non-refundable amount to $5.50/head sold, up from $4.00/head.
Voters narrowly rejected the same idea at last year’s annual general meeting.
Of the $1.50, BFO will invest 25 cents per head back into the organization to support producer and engagement activities.
The remaining $1.25 will support a new project between the BFO and another cattle group, said Joe Hill, BFO’s president.
“The largest percentage will fund a marketing committee that we are operating in partnership with the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association,” Hill told Farms.com. “The plan is to really ramp up the promotion and consumer awareness of Ontario beef brands. Not just Ontario beef generically, but a number of privately owned brands that feature Ontario beef that allow us to service different segments of the market.”
The committee will promote Ontario beef domestically and internationally.
But producers shouldn’t expect the checkoff to come into effect any time soon.
As the investment amount is found within the Beef Cattle Marketing Act, the provincial government will have to pass the updated law before the checkoff update will come into effect.
“It will be a couple of months before producers will see it,” Hill said. The checkoff increase “has to go through the provincial cabinet, and I think the last increase we did took about 10 months to go through. I’d expect a similar timeframe this time around as well.”