Support for Ranchers’ Rights Initiative

I write in support of the Ranchers’ Rights Initiative lawsuit seeking a ruling on the constitutionality of the  appointment process to the ND Beef Commission. The flawed century code that gives control over nominations for a majority of seats on the commission should have been amended by the legislature long ago. It guarantees that a contractor to the state checkoff can seat its own members on the commission, the very body making decisions about which contractors will be awarded checkoff funds. This is a clear conflict of interest, particularly when the organization represents less than 20 percent of cattle ranchers in ND. 

Our government should not be in the business of picking winners or losers nor should it be allowed to penalize checkoff-paying producers who have exercised their right under the refund clause in the code. I am reminded of a Ronald Reagan-coined phrase: a right denied one is a right denied all. 

 I urge the governor and the attorney general to get this suit into the hands of the judge as quickly as possible so the state checkoff and the producers who pay it will have the answers we need and perhaps can redesign the governing structure in a more equitable, fair, and inclusive way. 

I urge you to contribute to Ranchers Rights Initiative to help defray the costs of this lawsuit, which is being borne soley by three courageous cattlemen. They deserve our support. Send your check to RRI, PO Box 12, Sterling, ND 58572. 

Tim Heil,

Adams County, ND