FAQs
1. What is the national check-off?
The national check-off is a mandatory levy of $1 per head collected from Canadian beef cattle producers when they market their cattle.
2. Why a national check-off?
The check-off generates approximately $8.2 million annually for research and marketing activities on behalf of the entire industry. These activities are aimed at advancing the Canadian beef industry which ultimately puts more money back into the hands of producers. The full implementation of a national levy on domestic cattle will also allow Canada to apply an equivalent levy to imported cattle and beef products.
3. Who is currently paying national check-off?
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have all entered into agreements with the National Check-off Agency.
3. What does the national check-off fund and how does it benefit cattle producers?
The national check-off provides industry funding for the Beef Cattle Research Council responsible for the industry’s national research program; the Beef Information Centre tasked with domestic and U.S. marketing; and the Canada Beef Export Federation which develops markets in Mexico, Asia, and more recently Russia and the Middle East.
An independent study evaluating economic benefits from the national check-off shows that Canadian beef cattle producers’ funding of research and marketing activities has delivered strong return on investment – and compared to other commodities falls squarely within the range of values reported for other regions and commodities and is higher in some cases. See Study Q&A [PDF / 148.68KB] and Full Study [PDF / 1012.31KB].
The national check-off does not provide any funding to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association which is funded separately through provincial organizations.
4. Is the national check-off the only source of funding for industry research and promotion?
No. While the national check-off provides the core industry funding for research and marketing, it does not fully cover the costs of all programs and activities. Supplementary funding is obtained by leveraging the national check-off, attracting $6 for every $1 of producer check-off funds, The national check-off provides “industry funds” used as the basis to access matching dollars from other sources.
5. Does the national check-off replace the provincial check-off?
No, it is part of the provincial check-off collection process. The $1 per head national check-off is collected by provincial beef cattle organizations and remitted to the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency (National Check-off Agency) which oversees the national check-off.
In addition to the $1 national check-off, provinces collect check-off to fund their organizations and activities, along with provincial dues to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
Provincial check-offs are determined by the provinces and vary. Provincial organizations also determine how they want their $1 national check-off allocated to marketing and research activities. Historically, the ratio of investment in marketing to research is 93:7 (93 per cent to marketing and seven per cent to research).
6. Who collects the national check-off?
Auction markets, dealers, packing plants and any other purchasers are required to collect the levy on behalf of their provincial cattle association and the National Check-off Agency.
