A court decision dealing with the nomination process for the North Dakota Beef Commission continues to generate attention more than a week after the ruling. According to the NDBC Executive Director, Nicole Wardner, the court’s opinion focused on how members are appointed to the commission. “The judge found that the words in the law were written to create a closed class, meaning that there wasn’t the availability in the law to provide the qualification for another organization to be able to nominate producers to the governor for his consideration for the board of directors; that doesn’t affect the North Dakota Beef Commission and how we operate.” Six of the nine members of the beef checkoff board are nominated by the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, North Dakota Stockmen’s Association Feeder Council, Milk Producers Association of North Dakota, and the North Dakota Livestock Marketing Association. The governor can take nominations from any group or individual for future appointments. The North Dakota beef producers who invest in the checkoff program will see very little change. “It opens the door for more organizations to be able to bring producer names forward to the governor’s office, but the governor will still appoint our board members and have considerations for who should serve on this board,” said Wardner. “The beef checkoff program will continue to drive demand for beef, continue to make sure that we’re educating consumers, and continue to make sure that we’re investing in research to make sure that consumers trust our products.” District Judge Jackson Lofgren also ruled that individuals who received the state beef checkoff refund in the previous three years are not eligible for appointment to the NDBC.
