Less secrecy in checkoff programs

The Gazette Editorial Board

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It's probably no coincidence that Iowa's consistently No. 1 state rankings in hog, corn, soybean and egg production, as well as placing among the nation's top beef producing states, stem in part to initiatives of commodity groups.

In fiscal year 2013, the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, the Iowa Soybean Association, the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the Iowa Beef Industry Council - the state's four largest commodity groups - collected $37.3 million in checkoff funds from producers, a Nov. 17 Gazette report found. The checkoffs, such as the 1 cent per bushel for corn, are not donations. State or federal laws made all of them mandatory by the mid 1980s. Only the corn group allows applications for refunds at the end of the year.

The commodity checkoffs have become a force. They are essentially a tax on producers toward private enterprise goals of increasing domestic and international markets and supporting research to improve production methods, as well as raising public awareness. Most Iowans are likely familiar with advertising slogans such as “Pork: The Other White Meat” or, say, that the Corn Growers group sponsors the annual Cy-Hawk trophy competition for University of Iowa and Iowa State University teams.

Yet even though these groups are non-profit and tax-exempt, they are required to disclose relatively little information about how much of the checkoff money is spent.

Yes, elected boards of farmers make the spending decisions. But some farmers, including Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa's longtime U.S. senator, contend that they deserve to know more details about spending and promotion decisions.

We agree. Commodity groups no doubt have been good for Iowa's ag industry overall. But as long as checkoffs are mandatory and the organizations are tax-exempt, all farmers deserve a higher level of transparency and accountability - not secrecy.

In the long run, that's fairer to all farmers, better informs the public and enhances the credibility of commodity groups.

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