Whenever you sell wheat, corn, milo, soybeans or cattle (and I think mushrooms, hots, cotton, well, most any farm commodity) you are forced to pay some amount to the marketing board associated with that product. For instance, for wheat, the Kansas Wheat Commission gets $.01 per bushel for any wheat changes hands from producer to 1st purchaser in 2008. In 2009, it is going up to 1.5 cents per bushel. For soybeans, it is 0.5 percent of the market price per bushel sold.
For cattle, it is $1 per head every time you sell anything, calf, cow, bull for seedstock or beef.
These programs are marketed as being for research, expanding domestic markets and expanding international markets (marketing). They started off as a true check off, where by if you wanted to contribute, you would opt in and pay this amount. Eventually they began forcing everyone to pay under penalty of fines ($5,500 per instance for cattle).
For some of the check offs, you can request refunds for your money and actually get it back (wheat and corn). For milo, you can apply for the refund, but they haven't yet decided if they will pay it back yet. That decision will come in 2011, but you have to have your form in 60 days after you sell the product. (!) You can't get a refund of soybeans or cattle check off dollars.
Whenever I talk about getting this money back, everyone says "it is for research" or "They came up with 'Beef. It's what's for dinner'". The Supreme Court said it is constitutional. But I think it is akin to having to pay union dues and not wanting to join the union...and Kansas is a right to work state!
This year, the Kansas Wheat Commission brought in $3.56 million dollars! And now they are upping the tax from $.01 to $.015. So, conceivably, next year, they will bring in $5.34 million. Of course, that depends on the size of the crop.
You can download forms to get the money back for corn and milo, but for wheat you have to request a form in writing, and they stamp a certain voucher # on it, and if you sell at different elevators, they have to send you multiple vouchers (you can't copy them). Why, in this day and age, should you have to do that? Man, just put up a web site where you can enter your name, if you have to have it for "tracking purposes" (whatever that means), and let me get my form. The only thing I can think of is that people will get tired of calling in and requesting a form, so the wheat commission gets to keep the money. Here is my email trail to the secretary trying to keep me from getting my form:
Me: "Is there any reason this can't be put on the internet so producers could download it without you having to bother with sending it out?"
Her: "The reason it is not put on our website is because we need the written request whether it be e-mail, fax or by postal mail for tracking purposes."
Me: "So if, for instance, I gave the form you are sending me to my parents, they couldn't use it? It has to be tracked specifically to me?"
Her: "The request really needs to be made in the name of the person that the form is for."
Me: "Why? Is that the law? If you get a filled out form that you haven't already tracked, will you not process it?"
Her: "We have a database that is cross-checked. If they are not in the database a new entry is made. No, we process all requests."
Me: "We sell wheat at two different elevators. Do I have to request another one, or can I just make a copy of the one I have?" - this email was after I got the first one I requested in the mail.
Her: "You need one original form for each elevator that you sold wheat to. I will put another voucher in the mail to you."
Me: "This is just plain crazy. What would it take to change these crazy rules?"
Her: "If you would like, you might want to call and visit with your Kansas Wheat Commission representative Dean Stoskopf – PH: 620-653-7573." psst. Don't try to call that number. It is disconnected. Thanks a lot, secretary. But I did find his number, and I did get a hold of his wife. He, this "representative" (that I have never had the opportunity to vote for) is supposed to call me tomorrow.
Oh, yeah. Have I mentioned that wheat was $2.00ish per bushel during the 40's and it is $5.00ish now? Man, that's some savvy marketing. Hell, with inflation, the price went down!
Their web sites and pamphlets reek of unionization, socialism and misdirection. For instance, a quote from Teddy Roosevelt in on the Wheat propaganda paper: "Every man owes a part of his time and money to the business or industry in which he is engaged. No man has a moral right to withhold his support from an organization that is striving to improve conditions within his sphere." Um, no. I have every right to withhold my support from any organization I choose. It also says: "A large portion of the check-off goes towards research to improve wheat varieties....A recent study evaluated the wheat breeding program at Kansas State University, the sources of funding and its return to producers. The cost of running this program is $4.8 million and returns an economic value of $89 million to Kansas." Hey, that sounds good, huh? Except $4.8 million is about a million more than the entire check off program brought in last year, and in fact, the checkoff only spent around $911,000 in research. So, they are trying to take credit for the entire $89 million return to the state, while only contributing at most 1/4 of the money.
This just burns me. I do not want to join the Kansas Wheat Commission. I don't want to join the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board. I don't want to join the soybean board or the milo board. And I don't think they should be able to make me.
Why am I forced to pay a checkoff?
November 7th, 2009 at 05:57 am
November 7th, 2009 at 06:13 am 1257574404
November 7th, 2009 at 10:15 am 1257588915
November 7th, 2009 at 02:13 pm 1257603238
November 7th, 2009 at 03:48 pm 1257608927
I first asked him why we have to write in (real mail or email) or send a fax to get the information, and he said it was so they could try to convince us to not go through with it. I told him, well that's not working, cause your secretary sure didn't convince me of anything. I said that every other check off program that I've looked into that allows refunds have the forms online. He reminded me that other states didn't allow refunds at all for wheat, so he was pretty proud about that. I told him that having information that you had to read online before downloading it sounds like a good compromise. It would sure work better for me than that email stream I published above.
We talked about the research at K-State, and he said basically what we pay for is salaries and K-State provides the buildings. And then he named off 2 scientists and "their staffs". He didn't say what the marketing programs actually did. I brought up the "we only sent K-State $911,000 and they used $4 million" and he helpfully said "we are going to start sending them more." Probably from the $.005 increase, I imagine.
I then brought up how it would be better to opt in than have to opt out. That they are forcing me to participate and I object to that. He told me they aren't forcing me, but I can get my money back by doing certain steps. Well, I think that these last two weeks of research, interacting with idiot secretaries, having to go to my elevators (2) to get them to look up what I sent in, getting their signatures, getting my husband to sign two papers and send them in sure sounds like participating to me. I said that check offs started out having to opt in, that that is the meaning of "check off". (Do I want to participate? check) He said the wheat one was never that way. Ok, may be true, only after other "check offs" had already figured out that taking the money and refunding it was much harder on the producer and so many would not follow through. Kind of like INCOME TAXES (they withhold, you get to file a return to get your refund). But that doesn't change how the original name came about.
I also told him that I hadn't yet decided if I want to send the forms in or not, but in today's political climate, being forced to join an organization without any choice on my part just rankles me. I think that hit him a little. I mean, he is a farmer in central Kansas. Can he like what we have been finding out about ACORN? SEIU? Would he want to be forced to join them as a part of employment (we are not "employed" by anyone, but we do have to sell wheat, or we won't eat
He was a nice guy, but didn't really tell me anything I hadn't researched myself. And he didn't convince me of anything. He said he would bring it up at the next meeting. I gave him my email address so that he can let me know the results.
Now, as for the form online. There are so many possibilities, the mind boggles. You could have something that creates a barcode so when the form is returned, it could be scanned in. You could have a system where the producer creates an online account and they print out a form with their information on it (sans social security numbers...cross reference that with some random number in the back end) to send to the elevator. You could have a system where each elevator could log in and enter the producer number and there would be no paper work at all. Or, perhaps simplest, when you sell wheat, you could say "I don't want to participate" and they don't take your money at all! The elevator could submit that to the commission if necessary, along with an accounting of the amount that they were not able to steal from your check.
November 7th, 2009 at 04:27 pm 1257611240
Good for you for calling him and holding his feet to the fire. I'd write a follow-up letter and CC it around to other producers and other elected officials who might want my vote.
Here's something else that will frost your loops! Did mine!
http://wholefoodusa.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/alert-ohio-farm-food-and-health-alert/
November 8th, 2009 at 03:19 am 1257650369
November 8th, 2009 at 05:16 pm 1257700586
I have lots of problems with how migrant workers are treated, but I keep having visions of people working in fields w/o proper bathrooms and/or handwashing facilities.
Suffice it to say, I want my lettuce washed - at the store or grower's market and then again, at home. Maybe I'll just grow more of my own next year.
November 17th, 2009 at 01:54 am 1258422853
Perhaps you could get them to pay you to create the on-line system?