National Cattlemen’s Beef Association members are holding their mid-year meeting in Denver this week. South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association Executive Director Jodie Anderson says they will be holding committee meetings and setting policy.

She says they’ll look at the recent lawsuits against the beef checkoff and the effect of the recent Federal District Court ruling in Montana that declared the program unconstitutional and violation of the first amendment.

Anderson says they are concerned about the precedent set by the recent court ruling because it called the “involuntary collection” of the beef checkoff assessment a tax.

She adds with the drought hitting the Northern Plains the discussion of livestock insurance is also resurfacing.