The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has certified the results from the referendum held November 30th to reinstate the $.50 per head Iowa beef checkoff. Collection of the checkoff will begin March 1, 2017.

The referendum passed with 56 percent of the more than 1700 voting producers favoring the reinstatement of the assessment. The Iowa beef checkoff will be mandatory, but interested producers will have refunds available to them. The federal beef checkoff of $1 per head remains in place and would not be affected by the Iowa vote.

A petition to vote on the state beef checkoff was delivered to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship on September 2 by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. The petition contained over 500 signatures of cattle producers in the state of Iowa who are interested in a referendum.

For information about the beef checkoff and beef checkoff programs, contact the Iowa Beef Industry Council at (515) 296-2305 or email beef@iabeef.org.