September 15, 2000

With voting on whether to continue the pork checkoff program scheduled to begin next week, the pork producers' "Vote Yes Task Force" has issued a statement countering what they say are opponents' arguments favoring scrapping the research and promotion program.

The group offered what it claimed is "detailed proof that the checkoff has played a significant role in enhancing the profitability and viability of independent pork producers."

In the statement, the task force said, "The facts are clear. Pork production has been the most profitable sector of the livestock industry, consumer demand for pork is at an all-time high. The checkoff has played a major role in all of these accomplishments," continued Donna Reifschneider, a Smithton, IL, pork producer and co-chair of the Vote Yes Task Force.

The Task Force plans to spend the final days before the Sept. 19-21 in-person voting period trying to dispel the opposition's arguments against the program. Reifschneider says, "We intend to help pork producers separate fact from the opposition's claims."

These are the task force's responses to what it says are the chief claims of opponents:

--Claim: Packers and retailers reap all the benefits of the checkoff, and producers are forced to pay for it while thousands go out of business.

–Response: Seventeen out of 19 members on the NPPC Board are producers from operations of all sizes. The other two members are a packer and an allied industry representative who have been chosen by producers. Packers and retailers share the cost of pork promotion with producers, matching $2 for every checkoff dollar spent on retail promotion. Since the checkoff began, the average price per hundredweight has been $46.

–Claim: The checkoff has collected half a billion dollars since it began and producers have nothing to show for it.

–Response: That half a billion dollars was made possible by $132.2 billion in cash receipts from hog sales. According to Iowa State University, producers have been profitable 12 of the last 14 years. Producers have realized nearly $10 a hog in additional profit, just from this year's bacon demand. About 20% of the money collected, or $100 million, has gone directly to the state pork producer organizations. The return from net exports alone is $2.67 per hog marketed, which amounts to nearly $3 billion for producers.

--Claim: The checkoff has forced 250,000 producers out of business.

–Response: All pork organizations are concerned about the loss of producers. Pork producers exit the business for many reasons. However, there are pork producers in business today who would be gone without the checkoff. The 40-year trend, during which nearly a million producers left the industry, has been slowed since the checkoff began. The number of producers who left pork production averaged 32,351 per year from 1974 to 1986. Since the checkoff took effect, the average loss of producers has declined to 19,048 per year.

--Claim: Checkoff dollars are used against independent producers to further the interests of corporate hog factories.

–Response: USDA's Office of Inspector General reviewed checkoff expenditures and concluded that its programs are beneficial to all sizes and types of producers, especially small or disadvantaged producers.

"For example, the checkoff pays for disease research available to all producers and their veterinarians," says Reifschneider. "Without the checkoff, only the large operations would have money for this type of research - and they won't have any incentive to share their findings. Another example, the checkoff's meat quality research helped create the Berkshire Gold program, a niche marketing and product research program that has benefited many small producers. The bottom line is that the checkoff makes sure all producers are paying their fair share and the checkoff works for all producers," according to Reifschneider.

--Claim: NPPC's allied industry partners - packers, large producers, etc. - have contributed $2 million to the pro-checkoff campaign.

Response: The entire "Vote Yes" campaign has been funded with non-checkoff dollars, from a distinct fund specifically created for the campaign. Individual producers, state organizations, county organizations, and some allied industry partners have contributed to this fund, which has also been supplemented by trade show revenues from the World Pork Expo. Packers have not contributed to this fund and have not been asked to. The USDA does not allow checkoff funds to be used to influence voters.