Checkoff refunds take a major bite out of the Alberta Beef Producers budget, and while the organization has struck a deal to share that financial pain with the CCA, the issue is far from settled.

Despite new deal, the issue of checkoff refunds far from settled

Alberta Beef Producers says beef sector needs to have ‘fully funded’ cattle organizations

Reading Time: 3 minutes The funding deal struck between Alberta Beef Producers and the Canadian Cattle Association earlier this year won’t mean drastic changes for either organization in the short term, says the chair of the provincial cattle group. But his organization won’t be reining in its efforts to dissuade feedlots and producers from requesting checkoff refunds, said Brodie […] Read more

Photo: emholk/iStock/Getty Images

Beef checkoff refunds rise again

Reading Time: < 1 minute The amount of checkoff money refunded by Alberta Beef Producers jumped again last year but this time, the increase was from payments to cow-calf producers. The organization refunded $3.24 million in 2021, up from $3.04 million the year before, according to the financial statements in ABP’s just-released annual report. Although feedlots account for the vast […] Read more


prime rib with cleaver

Alberta’s checkoff woes now poised to hit national organization

Alberta Beef Producers says it’s cut its budget all it can, and may have to reduce funding for the CCA

Reading Time: 3 minutes With checkoff refunds totalling about $30 million over the last dozen years, Alberta Beef Producers says it may have no choice but to cut support for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association — possibly by as much as $1 million annually. The Alberta cattle group is refunding about $3 million in checkoffs every year — the vast […] Read more

Beef checkoff dollars fund 29 projects

Beef checkoff dollars fund 29 projects

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Beef Cattle Research Council has awarded $2.9 million to 29 projects in the latest round of funding paid for by checkoff dollars. Priority areas are animal health and welfare, feed production and utilization, food safety and environmental stewardship. Knowledge transfer is also a priority, said vice-chair Craig Lehr, a cow-calf producer and feedlot operator […] Read more


What’s in the beef research pipeline?

What’s in the beef research pipeline?

Reading Time: < 1 minute An increase in the national beef checkoff (from $1 to $2.50 per head in most provinces) has increased the Beef Cattle Research Council’s research budget to about 75 cents per head (versus 15 cents previously). Under the new Beef Science Cluster III program — which runs until March 31, 2023 — $21 million will go […] Read more

Beef checkoff plebiscite extended until Nov. 27

Beef checkoff plebiscite extended until Nov. 27

Reading Time: < 1 minute The plebiscite on making the $2-per-head provincial cattle checkoff non-refundable has been extended by two weeks, and so voting will continue until Nov. 27. The Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council “recognized that the terrible weather during September and early October left many producers far behind on their harvest and other fall work in the fields […] Read more


Plebiscite on provincial beef checkoff being held

Vote is being held until Nov. 13

Reading Time: < 1 minute Producers are being urged “to get out and vote” in a plebiscite on whether to make the $2 provincial beef checkoff non-refundable. “This is your opportunity to have your voice heard,” said Norine Moore, chair of the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council. Currently, producers can request a full or partial refund of the checkoff. The […] Read more

Get out and vote is the main message coming from Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association chair Ryan Kasko and his counterpart at Alberta Beef Producers.

It’s decision time on beef checkoff

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cattle producers will have three ways to vote on the proposed non-refundable checkoff — by mail, at their local Agriculture Financial Services Corporation office, or one of Alberta Beef Producers’ 27 fall meetings. ABP and the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association (ACFA) will be holding a plebiscite from Oct. 19 to Nov. 13 on their joint […] Read more


Beef checkoff going up April 1

Beef checkoff going up April 1

Reading Time: < 1 minute The national beef checkoff will increase to $2.50 per head (from $1) effective April 1. The increase levy will be used to support research, market development and promotion. This increase was supported by provincial beef producers in every zone at the Alberta Beef Producers 2015 fall meetings. The increase to the national checkoff, along with […] Read more

Cows will be doing their part for beef research and marketing — those sold after will be subject to an extra $1.50 checkoff to fund those areas.

National cattle checkoff on its way up this spring

The national levy used to fund marketing and research is going up by $1.50 — 
the first increase since 2002

Reading Time: 3 minutes Come spring, more than the grass will be rising — the national cattle levy is going up $1.50 per head on April 1. “The impetus for us was the national beef strategy,” said Rich Smith, executive director of Alberta Beef Producers. “The national beef strategy is a plan for us for the next five years […] Read more