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Check-off
Dear Producers:
With Bill 43, “The Marketing of Agricultural Products Amendment Act 2009 (Number 2)”, receiving third reading on June 2, 2009, ABP’s current non-refundable service charge will become refundable effective April 1, 2010. A system for refundable check-off is being developed, the draft amendments to the Cattle Marketing Regulation will be discussed with producers at the 2009 fall producer meetings and will be debated and voted upon by the delegate body at the 2009 Annual General Meeting. The amendments to the Cattle Marketing Regulation must be complete by January 1, 2010.
The current legislation will remain in effect until March 31, 2010. Until this time, the Alberta Beef Producers Plan Regulation authorizes ABP to collect a service charge when cattle are sold or slaughtered. Under the Cattle Marketing Regulation:
- a producer who sells cattle is required to pay a service charge in the amount of $3.00 per head of cattle sold by that producer;
- a producer who is in the business of feeding and slaughtering that producer’s own cattle is required to pay a service charge in the amount of $3.00 for each head of cattle fed and slaughtered by that producer.
The collection process of the legislation will remain; the facilitator of the sale will continue to be the collection source of the check-off, they will continue to remit the check-off collected to ABP and then producers will have to send in the paperwork to get the refund. Once the consultation process is complete, the forms will be developed, made available to everyone along with additional information as it becomes available.
Thank you for your inquiry, if you require additional information please contact me.
Yours truly,
Laura Procunier, CA, CMA
Controller
Statement of Check-off Deductions
The check-off dollars collected from producers on the sale of cattle in Alberta is used, on behalf of producers, to further to objects of the ABP Plan Regulation. The overarching role of Alberta Beef Producers, as a marketing commission, is to initiate and carry out projects or programs to commence, stimulate, increase or improve the production and marketing of cattle and cattle products. To carry out this objective and leverage our check-off dollars, Alberta Beef Producers has entered into an agreement with the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency (the National Agency) to support national research, marketing and promotion. The National Agency was established to collect a levy on cattle sold in interprovincial trade and will eventually collect a levy on imported cattle and cattle products.
When cattle are sold in Alberta, either ABP’s service charge or the National Agency’s federal levy, but not both, is payable to Alberta Beef Producers. If cattle are sold by a resident of Alberta, the $3.00 ABP service charge is collected. If cattle are sold by a non-resident (this being an interprovincial sale) the $3.00 Federal Levy is collected.
Everyone who deducts and remits check-off dollars to Alberta Beef Producers is required to report the number of cattle for which the check-off has been deducted by province of origin. The province of origin is the province of residence of the seller of the cattle. Any deduction from cattle owned by Alberta producers is considered ABP service charge and that collected from non-resident producers is considered to be the Federal Levy.
Pursuant to its agreement with the National Agency, Alberta Beef Producers remits $1.00 from every $3.00 service charge collected to the National Agency. This money is used by the National Agency to support the activities of the Beef Information Centre, the Canada Beef Export Federation and the Beef Cattle Research Council. In addition, the provincial cattle associations in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick also contribute $1.00 from their provincial levy as well. Agreements are in the process of being finalized with the other provinces. This $1.00 is part of the “National Check-Off”.
The $3.00 Federal Levy that is collected from non-resident producers is paid to the National Agency. Of that $3.00, $1.00 is retained by the National Agency as the “National Check-Off” and the remaining $2.00 is distributed by the National Agency to the provincial cattle associations based on the amount of the provincial levy imposed in the seller’s province of origin. If the provincial levy in the province of origin is less than $3.00 per head, the difference is paid to Alberta Beef Producers for support of national trade issues. The reverse happens when an Alberta resident producer sells cattle outside of Alberta.
The western provinces have implemented a procedure to track payment of the check-off in other provinces in an effort to avoid a provincial charge and a federal levy being collected on the same sales transaction. With this procedure, for example, a producer transporting cattle from Saskatchewan producer to Alberta, for sale or slaughter, no longer pays a check off in Saskatchewan and another one in Alberta.
As a member of the National Agency, Alberta Beef Producers and each of the other provincial cattle association members, determine how the National Check-Off dollars from their province are allocated by the National Agency to the Beef Information Centre, the Canada Beef Export Federation and the Beef Cattle Research Council.
Your check-off dollars are working hard for you provincially, nationally and internationally.
Random Remitter Audits
We would like to inform producers of ABP’s audit process that helps ensure that Alberta Beef Producers is collecting its service charge and the National Agency’s Federal Levy (commonly known as the Check-Off).
ABP conducts random audits of service charge remitters for the purposes of ensuring that the Alberta Beef Producers Plan Regulation and Cattle Marketing Regulation are being complied with and that the persons responsible for deducting and remitting the service charge to ABP are doing so in accordance with the regulations. This audit is authorized by section 44 of the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act R.S.A. 2000 c. M-4 and sections 7 and 9 of the Cattle Marketing Regulation A.R. 204/98.
At the same time ABP is conducting the audit for the remittance of the service charge. We will be examining the books and records of persons responsible for deducting and remitting the Federal Levy in Alberta pursuant to the Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Levies Order SOR/2005-103. This examination is authorized by section 10 of the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency Proclamation SOR/2002-48 and section 34 of the Farm Products Agencies Act R.S.C 1985 c. F-4.
Those who are randomly selected to undergo an audit, with respect to the deduction and remittance the ABP service charge and the Federal Levy, will be contacted by our Check-Off Auditor to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the audit.
Who pays the service charge and the federal levy? The service charge is payable when a resident producer sells cattle, or when a resident producer slaughters cattle if he is in the business of feeding and slaughtering cattle. The federal levy is payable by non-resident producers when they sell cattle in Alberta.
Who collects the service charge and the federal levy? The service charge and the federal levy is payable by the owner of the livestock and is deducted from the purchase price by the purchaser or the dealer, if a livestock dealer is involved in the transaction. The purchaser or the dealer, as the case may be, is responsible for remitting the funds to ABP.
If you have any questions with respect to the random audits to be conducted by ABP and the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency please do not hesitate to call either Laura Procunier or Adrienne Waller at the ABP Office.