Thread by @beefinitiative

🔴 THE CARTEL TAX ON AMERICAN RANCHERS

Every time a U.S. rancher sells a cow, $1 is seized—by law.

That dollar doesn’t help the ranch.
It doesn’t stay in the state.
It funds your replacement.

This is the Beef Checkoff.
And it’s time to expose it. 🧨

Thread🧵

1/ Since 1985, the U.S. has lost over 665,000 beef cattle operations—more than HALF the industry.

That’s not market attrition.
That’s strategic liquidation.

Ranchers are gone. Herds are shrinking.

And yet the USDA-backed checkoff system keeps growing.

🔖 Bookmark and share this thread. Because every rancher you know is paying for their own replacement.

2/ The Beef Checkoff @BeefCheckoff Program takes $1 per head from every cattle sale.

It’s mandatory—even if you don’t agree with what it funds.

And what does it fund?

Foreign beef.
Global packers.

And a marketing machine designed to erase you from your own market.

3/ In 2023 alone, NCBA—a packer-friendly lobbying org—received $38.2 million in Beef Checkoff contracts.

That’s over 68% of the program’s national spend.

The same group that opposes Country-of-Origin Labeling runs the show.

Your dollar.
Their narrative.

4/ While ranchers went broke, the checkoff wrote a “Long Range Beef Plan” to align production systems.

Translation: control producers. Enforce compliance.

Ranchers fund it. They own it.

5/ This isn’t just bureaucratic overreach. It’s legalized extraction.

In states like Illinois, the law forces markets to deduct $1 from the seller—and forward it to the Checkoff Division.

No pay?

You get fined. Sued. Shut down. ilga.gov/Legislation/IL…

6/ And if you want out? Too bad.

Only USDA-certified organic producers (another scam) can file for exemption—once per year.

Everyone else is trapped.
You’re not just selling cattle.

You’re being taxed to fund the cartel.

7/ @RCalfUSA has been warning us for years:

“The checkoff program helps pull more generic, imported beef into our market.”
– Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA

It’s not about promoting U.S. ranchers.

It’s about promoting the illusion of beef—no matter where it came from.

8/ This program was approved in 1988 by a vote where less than 20% of eligible producers even participated.

Yet today it’s law.

Unescapable.
Unaccountable.
And growing.

Welcome to CattleCon.

9/ THE GOOD NEWS?

You can take your dollar back.
You can buy from the people they’re trying to erase.

No checkoffs.
No imports.
No cartel markup.

Just Rancher Direct Certified℠ beef.
🇺🇸 BeefMaps.com

🧨READ THE FULL EXPOSÉ

"Sell a Cow. Fund the Enemy."

The Beef Checkoff isn’t marketing.
It’s liquidation.

And it’s time to end it.

📎 beefnews.org/sell-a-cow-fun…