MANITOULIN—Member farmers of the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) have rejected a call for an increase in the beef checkoff.
Manitoulin BFO delegate and farmer John McNaughton told the Recorder after the BFO annual conference recently, “one of the contentious issues on the table was the motion that proposed an increase of $1.50 for the check off.”
“This proposal (motion) was defeated,” said Mr. McNaughton. “It did not receive enough votes, with a two-third majority of members votes required to go through. Enough members felt the proposed increase was too high, and voted against it.”
“We certainly discussed the issue and left it up to the voting delegates to decide if as an organization we would be in favour or against the checkoff increase,” said Mr. McNaughton. “With the beef checkoff we pay so much per animal that is sold.” The funds from this checkoff go to market development, helping to grow the industry. “It goes to the organization itself. And yes, there is a federal component of the check off, that comes back to the provincial organization.”
BFO had reached into its reserves in order to pay a 2017 deficit worth nearly $1 million and had planned to do the same this year, expecting the beef check off increase would be given the go ahead.
Joe Hill, the new president of BFO, told the Western Producer that BFO is going to have to realign its budget, and make several hard decisions on what its priorities are for spending, and in essence have to take money from some areas where BFO is going to have to focus less so it can come back with a closer to balanced budget to keep going for the next couple of years.
The beef farmers’ board had wanted the checkoff increase to pay for more marketing and communications to try and bolster the Ontario beef industry.
The increase above the current $3 per head required a constitutional change within BFO, which mean two-third approval from farmer-delegates at the annual meeting. However, the delegate vote at the BFO annual meeting had a vote of 61 percent in favour, short of the 66 percent needed.
Mr. McNaughton said at the BFO conference, Jordan Miller of Grandview Farms in Gordon-Barrie Island has been elected as a director to the Northern director’s board.
