USDA 

~ 

Agricultural Office of the 1400 Independence Avenue, SW 

Marketing Deputy Administrator Room 2092-S, STOP 0249 

- Service Livestock & Poultry Program Washington, DC 20250-0249 

July 22, 2020 

Dear Mr. Nesson: 

Thank you for your correspondence ofJuly 2, 2020, notifying the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) that, on behalfof a number of organizations, you have initiated a process to 

provide cattle producers with an opportunity to petition for a referendum under the Beef 

Promotion and Research Act of 1985 (Act). 

A number ofrequirements must be met when obtaining producer signatures on a petition 

requesting that the Secretary conduct a referendum on the beef checkoff program. Specifically, 

cattle producers must ( 1) have owned, sold, or purchased cattle during the 12-month petition 

period, (2) ifyounger than 18 years of age, must have a parent or guardian co-sign the petition, 

(3) have authorization to sign the petition ifdoing so on behalf of a corporation or other entity, 

and ( 4) ifsigning as an individual member ofa group, be an eligible producer separate from the 

group. 

As provided by the Act, a group of IO percent or more ofthe number of cattle producers must 

request the referendum and this group must be representative of cattle producers. The number of 

cattJe producers who must sign the petition is based on the number ofoperations with cattle and 

calves in the United States as published by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS). The most recent NASS census containing inventory numbers is for the year 2017 and 

indicates the number of operations with cattle and calves totaled 882,692, therefore the petition 

for a referendum you initiated on July 2, 2020, must contain valid signatures from a 

representative group of 88,269 cattle producers. The signatures must be collected during a 

I-year period beginning with the earliest date of a signature. Because your petition was launched 

July 2, 2020, and received its first signature on the same day, you will have until July 2, 2021, to 

collect signatures. You then have 30 days to submit signatures to USDA after the one-year 

period; therefore, you will need to submit the signatures to us by August 1, 2021. 

Upon receipt ofthe petition, the Secretary will initiate the process of verifying the number of 

signatures and their validity and determining whether those producers signing the petitions are a 

representative group of cattle producers. For this validation process, USDA will request 

documentation from a sampling ofproducers who signed the petition. The documentation would 

need to demonstrate that the producer sold, purchased, or owned cattle during the petition period. 

Finally, the Secretary will then decide whether USDA will conduct a referendum as requested. 
Mr. Nesson 

Page 2 

In order to properly verify and validate the petition, each signatory must provide: ( 1) the full 

name ofthe producer or entity represented, (2) signature, (3) printed name, if different from (1 ), 

(4) complete mailing address, ( 5) daytime telephone number (home, business, or cell), ( 6) e-mail 

address, if available, and (7) date the petition was signed. If the information ( other than the email address) is not provided in its entirety, USDA may not be able to validate the subrnitter's 

eligibility, in which case the signature will not be counted. 

I also must inform you that inappropriate activity has infected the petition process that you 

initiated. Specifically, AMS has been provided evidence that indicates producers will be entered 

into a drawing to win $100 in exchange for sharing a post that encourages signing the petition. 

This action calls into question the integrity and validity ofthe process you are using to collect 

signatures. Monetary inducement is improper. Therefore, during the verification and validation 

process, USDA will apply additional scrutiny to petition signatures obtained through an online 

platform and will consider whether any signatures have been obtained subject to improper 

influence or coercion. If evidence of such activity surfaces, we may be unable to perform our 

verification function and the petition will fail. 

It is imperative that in conducting and submitting the petition, you carefully follow the 

requirements as outlined by AMS. Eligible producers who sign the petition must understand 

what they are signing and should not be improperly incentivized, coerced into signing, or 

misguided as to its purpose. Due to the issues outlined above, AMS recommends adding specific 

language to the petition to better safeguard the integrity ofthe signatures collected (see attached 

Guidance). Any evidence suggesting otherwise threatens the validity ofthe entire petition 

process. As the organizer of the petition, I must impress upon you that its success lies not only 

in gathering the required number ofsignatures, but in maintaining the integrity ofthe process. 

I have directed my staff to meet with you as soon as practical to ensure we have a firm 

understanding ofthe process you are using to collect signatures. Further, as you continue to 

move forward with your petition, I encourage you to promptly communicate questions or issues 

to Betsy Flores, Director ofthe Research and Promotion Division, at (202) 720-1118. 

et Porter 

Deputy Administrator 

Attachment: Guidelines to Petition the Secretary of Agriculture for a Referendum on the Beef 

Promotion and Research Order