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State says North Dakota Beef Commission lawsuit should be dismissed
Beef cows graze in a pasture near Killdeer. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
Attorneys for the state of North Dakota have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the North Dakota Beef Commission of unlawfully favoring big cattle associations.
The lawsuit, filed in July, says the commission's appointment process is unconstitutional and must be changed.
In a court filing this month, the state denied those accusations and countered that the plaintiffs — a group of independent ranchers — haven't made a clear case for why they think the commission is breaking the law.
Attorneys for North Dakota also said that the ranchers can't bring the lawsuit because their window of time to do so has already expired. North Dakota law says that generally, legal action against the state must be taken within three years after an alleged harm occurs.
The lawsuit claims that Gov. Kelly Armstrong and private associations wield too much power over who serves on the North Dakota Beef Commission's board.
Under North Dakota's Beef Commission Act, which dates back to 2009, members of the commission's board are mostly nominated by private organizations and then selected by the governor, according to the plaintiffs' complaint. Anyone can submit nominations for a select few seats, though the group of cattle producers bringing the lawsuit say the governor only picks members and affiliates of the Stockmen's Association for these positions.
The plaintiffs allege that independent ranchers like themselves get no representation on the board.
They want a state district court judge to rule the Beef Commission Act unconstitutional and to strike it down. The plaintiffs also offer that, as an alternative, the court could bar the governor from selecting future commission members solely from a candidate pool picked by private associations.
Ranchers sue to revamp North Dakota Beef Commission appointment process
The main job of the Beef Commission is to decide how to use the state's checkoff money. Checkoffs are funds the state raises through a small fee ranchers pay on cattle sales that is used to market the cattle industry. The money is used to help the industry by promoting beef consumption, as well as supporting research and education.
For each head of cattle sold, beef producers pay $1 to the state and $1 to the federal government in checkoffs. The Beef Commission pulled in about $1.67 million in revenue from checkoffs last year, according to its 2024 annual report.
In order to serve on the Beef Commission, the Beef Commission Act says beef producers cannot have requested refunds on their state checkoffs within the last three years. The plaintiffs in their complaint say this eligibility requirement is unlawfully discriminatory, and ask for the courts to suspend it.
A representative of the Beef Commission last month said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
The plaintiffs include the Ranchers Rights Initiative and three of its directors: Kenneth Graner, Jeremy Maher and Michael Heaton. The Ranchers Rights Initiative describes itself as a group for independent North Dakota ranchers who don't belong to any of the leading professional associations for cattle producers.
The case has been assigned to South Central Judicial District Judge Jackson Lofgren.
The North Dakota state Legislature earlier this year considered legislation to have board members elected rather than appointed, though the bill died in the House.
The Beef Commission opposed the legislation. In testimony submitted on the bill, the commission said the appointment process supports a fair and impartial board. They also claimed that changing the current process would be expensive and could leave the commission vulnerable to political polarization.
North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer can be reached at msteurer@
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