VOTER CERTIFICATION UPCOMING FOR BEEF COUNCIL REFERENDUM

SACRAMENTO, June 5, 2002-Upon the recommendation of the California Beef Council, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is preparing to conduct a vote of California beef producers to determine whether or not the California Beef Council (CBC) assessment rate should be raised by fifty cents, from the current rate of $1.00 to a new rate of $1.50 per head.

To prepare for the vote, CDFA is building a list of beef producers qualified to vote on the referendum. CDFA already has a preliminary list and will soon be mailing voter certification forms to all those individuals to ascertain whether they are in fact qualified beef producers. Only those individuals who verify their eligibility by completing and returning a certification form will subsequently be mailed ballots. The referendum will be conducted from July 1 through July 30.

To ensure that beef producers receive their ballots in a timely manner, certification forms should be returned to the Department by June 25, 2002. Ballots may be requested after June 25, but all voted ballots must be postmarked or otherwise received by the CDFA Marketing Branch at 1220 N Street Room A-247, Sacramento, CA 95814 no later than July 30, 2002.

For more information about the certification and referendum procedures, contact Dennis Manderfield of CDFA’s Marketing Branch at (916) 654-1245. For information about the activities of the California Beef Council, contact Bruce Berven, Executive Director of the Council, at (925) 484-2333.


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FLEX YOUR POWER. To meet California’s energy challenge, CDFA urges businesses and consumers to conserve. For a list of simple ways that you can reduce demand and cut your energy costs, see our Web site @www.cdfa.ca.gov.