WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A northwest Kansas rancher has dropped a lawsuit claiming the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is illegally using “beef checkoff” funds for lobbying.
St. Francis feed yard operator Michael Callicrate filed a notice of voluntary dismissal Thursday in federal court in Kansas.
Callicrate sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other entities seeking a court order prohibiting any beef promotion program dollars from going to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
His legal move comes a week after the Agriculture Department’s Office of Inspector General released a report finding no evidence that the association board’s activities did not comply with legislation.
The inspector general’s office said it examined more than a thousand invoices amounting to more than $20.5 million in reimbursement payments from the beef checkoff fund.
