A proposal to institute a state checkoff fund for Oklahoma’s beef producers was defeated

A proposal to institute a state checkoff fund for Oklahoma’s beef producers was defeated, the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association said, citing an announcement from the state’s Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.The vote was 2,506 against, 1,998 for.The campaign to institute the fee was controversial. Oklahoma members of the Organization for Competitive Markets and R-CALF USA had asked the state's Supreme Courtto prohibit the department from certifying the Oklahoma beef checkoff program referendum. With the referendum defeated, the lawsuit will have to be withdrawn.“It is disheartening that the Oklahoma Beef Checkoff was defeated, but I’m still proud of the strong collaborative effort of the Vote Yes Coalition and our grassroots campaign,” Weston Givens, rancher and President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, said in the statement.Referendum supporters had said detractors of the proposal were “out-of-state activists” seeking to impede the beef market’s growth in the state.