A proposal to establish a $1 state fee per head of cattle was rejected by Missouri beef producers. Almost 75 percent of the voters rejected the proposal, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the Springfield News Leader.

“On April 4, 2016, ballots were mailed to the 8,480 Missouri beef producers who registered during the registration period. Of those, 6,568 valid ballots were returned to the Missouri Department of Agriculture postmarked no later than April 15. 1,663 producers (25.33%) voted for the checkoff and 4,903 producers (74.67%) voted against it,” the Department said.

The proposal was supported by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation, the Missouri Dairy Association and the Missouri Dairy Industry Alliance. Those groups issued a statement Monday that said the organizations were disappointed cattle producers rejected a proposal that would have helped improve the industry.

"Concerns with declining beef prices and the misinformation about beef disseminated by radical animal rights groups will not go away, and we will continue to look for ways to promote Missouri beef and help educate consumers," the statement said.

The Rural Crisis Center, which was against the proposal, called the vote a “good day for independent family farm livestock production.”

Source: Springfield News-Leader