Source: Carol Spaeth-Bauer, WISCONSIN FARMER, 1/13/20

In an effort to add add accountability and transparency to reform the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) checkoff programs Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada, introduced the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act on Jan. 9. The federally mandated checkoff program requires farmers raising everything from hogs to Christmas trees to fund the programs through compulsory fees. The programs were established as mechanisms for agricultural industries to pool money for common promotional and research purposes.

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