A man with many titles, Mike Callicrate is the President of the Organization for Competitive Markets, Owner of Ranch Food Direct in Colorado Springs, and a cow/calf and finished cattle producer. Among those titles, Callicrate also finds himself as the plaintiff in a lawsuit that seeks to eliminate the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as the contractor to the Beef Checkoff. In the suit, which has been made possible with assistance from the Humane Society of the U.S., he is challenging US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) and the CBB’s Beef Promotion Operating Committee.
Northern Ag Network spoke to him this week about the legal action that could force major changes on the industry. Below you’ll find his answers to our questions:
What is this lawsuit and where did it come from?
What would he suggest for a new Beef Checkoff structure?
The lawsuit has been filed. Where do we go from here?
CLICK HERE to see the paperwork that was filed with the courts on Friday, August 17. Northern Ag Network is currently getting reaction from the major livestock industry groups and will be posting those interviews on this website.
© Northern Ag Network 2012
Haylie Shipp
