A lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Agriculture about the vote on whether Missouri should have a state beef checkoff, has been dismissed.
Cattle (photo courtesy; Aubrey Fletcher via Missouri Department of Agriculture)
The Missouri Rural Crisis Center brought that suit and it plans to file new litigation after the vote is held. Director Tim Gibbons believes the Department’s actions have not been legal.
“The way they’ve been doing the process and making the rules have all been behind closed doors without a public comment and rule-making process, and they’ve come up with a new definition for producer which includes corporate shareholders, which they did behind closed doors,” Gibbons told Brownfield News.
Missouri Cattlemen’s Association president Mike Deering said the process has been legal and not exclusionary.
“Every group, including those who are opposed to this checkoff, was involved in drafting and making recommendations to that, so it’s been very open and transparent,” said Deering.
Voting on the checkoff begins Monday.
Brownfield Ag News contributed to this story