Judge upholds honey fee - Beekeepers said checkoff a violation of free speech

Rocky Mountain News ^ | September 14, 2005 | John Accola

[anonsquared]

A penny-per-pound marketing fee on honey producers has survived a legal challenge from a group of beekeepers at odds with the National Honey Board.

An administrative law judge in Washington ruled last week that the national honey checkoff program was constitutional.

In a 27-page ruling, Judge Jill S. Clifton cited a May Supreme Court opinion that kept intact a mandatory beef promotion "tax" administered by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Clifton observed that the honey and beef checkoff programs, both passed by Congress and overseen by the Agriculture Department, constitute "government speech" that is not subject to the First Amendment.

"Individual honey producer(s) . . . have no constitutional right to avoid paying for government speech with which they do not agree," Clifton wrote.

In September 2001, eight U.S. honey producers and the American Honey Producers Association filed a petition with the Department of Agriculture, objecting to the mandatory honey promotion fee on grounds that the assessments violated their First Amendment free speech rights. They argued they were being forced to pay for advertising they didn't agree with.

Chief among their complaints were Agriculture Department rules preventing the board from producing ads that pitch U.S. honey over foreign brands.

Steve Park of the independent American Honey Producers said foreign honey accounts for nearly half of U.S. honey sales and that the importers are undercutting American honey suppliers. "Even if it increases honey consumption overall, it simply boosts the imports to come in with cheaper honey than what we can produce ourselves."

Richard Adee of Adee Honey Farms in South Dakota testified that a penny a pound can sometimes represent 2 percent of his family owned company's gross sales. He is lobbying Congress to allow the honey board to assess only U.S. honey producers and represent strictly domestic beekeepers' interests.

[anonsquared]

Not to mention the fact that if American beekeepers go out of business, the population of bees - which is already decreasing - will be hit even harder. I suppose the megafarms could then hire illegal immigrants with paint brushes to pollinate our crops.

And the American Honey Producers Association better not try to say the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings! /sarc

[deaconjim]

Not to mention the fact that if American beekeepers go out of business, the population of bees - which is already decreasing - will be hit even harder.

No doubt about that. The feral bee population has been decimated by mites, and without beekeepers American agriculture will face a massive crisis.

[Balding_Eagle]

I think it was the Pork Producers (no, not Congress, the real hog farmers!) who fought this one to the bitter end. I thin they finally won. The National Honey Board will too.

[Publius Valerius]

An administrative law judge

Fake judge.

[Who dat?]

My grandfather had two cousins that got out of being drafted during WWII because they were beekeepers. No kidding.

Evidently it was considered “necessary” or “essential” or something – maybe still is…

[WorkingClassFilth]

The fight's been on for quite a few years already. I don't - and won't - give the NHB one thin dime.

[SteveMcKing]

What kind of world is this that you can't have your little farm, raise bees, and sell honey without paying a tax to (basically) a political racket.

Something has gone very wrong in this country. The leeches are winning.

[Grizzled Bear]

I thought American Bees are a protected minority!

[Balding_Eagle]

I used to raise hogs. The Pork Producers checkoff was automatic. If you sold hogs, the checkoff was automatically deducted from the check.

That's what the lawsuit was about, could they legally do that. The answer (I think) was yes. I sold my share of the business before the suit was even brought. I no longer paid it once I quit selling hogs.

I imagine it may be the same way with honey, if you sell to the 'big' guys you don't have a choice. The way around of course is to sell to people/companies who don't checkoff. Easier with honey than hogs would be my guess.

[glorgau]

"Individual honey producer(s) . . . have no constitutional right to avoid paying for government speech with which they do not agree," Clifton wrote.

Does the collected money go towards PBS ? ;-)

[WorkingClassFilth]

I believe the NHB takes their share on the barrelhead, but then, I don't sell wholesale to packers. I sell retail. In a nutshell, the NHB, like many promotional boards, end up benefitting the processor more than the producer - especially when imports are allowed. The honey imports in this country are estimated to be anywhere between 20-40% of the market. If the NHB taxes the producer to promote consumption and the packers boost their sales through the promotion but they cut their commodity purchases inside the USA, who profits? Family business agriculture must become highly efficient to compete with corporate economies, find profitable niche markets or directly retail to the consumers. If they don't, they're done for.

[Rebelbase]

I used to live on a elevation above a couple of hundred acres of active cropland, mostly Peppers and Cucumbers. Every year a couple of weeks before the crops flowered a beekeeper would bring in truck load full of hives and leave them until the fruit appeared on the plants.

[Cold Heart]

Tax the imports and use it to advertise domestic honey. Ha Ha Ha.

I had four hives a long time ago. Became problematic going to sea and I got rid of them. I had the best honey. Mostly blackberry. I have one bottle left and it is still liquid 30 years later. Store bought honey seems to solidify before I get it home.

I have been thinking about getting a of couple hives again.