Kentucky beef cattle producers have voted to assess themselves an additional $1 per head on cattle marketed in Kentucky in a statewide referendum held in November.

The final tally was 1,816 in favor of the state check off and 1,423 against. The assessment will take effect April 1, 2015.

Producers who pay the assessment may request a refund from the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association in writing within 30 days of the date that the assessment is collected.

The Kentucky State Board of Agriculture called for the referendum in August at the request of the KCA. State law requires the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to carry out a referendum at the direction of the board.

In a letter to the board requesting the referendum, Dave Maples, executive vice president of the KCA, said the assessment would be used "to promote [and] stimulate, by research, market development, and education, the use and sale, domestic and foreign, of bovine animal products." The entire $1 state check off will be used for programs in Kentucky, whereas the $1 national check off is divided between the state and the national Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board.

For more information, contact Dave Maples at (859) 278-0899 or dmaples@kycattle.org.