Commodity Checkoff Programs and Generic Advertising

“Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.” “Got Milk?” “Pork. The Other White Meat.” “Flowers. Alive with Possibilities.” We have all heard and seen these and similar promotional messages over the years on television, over the radio, and in magazines. Often labeled generic advertising, these messages are government-sanctioned but producer-funded efforts to enhance the demand for farm commodities. As opposed to advertising for specific brands of a product by particular producers, generic advertising is generally a cooperative effort of a large group of producers (suppliers) to promote the demand for the homogeneous (similar) product. These advertising messages are funded through an institutional structure known as commodity checkoff programs. Why do the checkoff programs exist? What are the major functions of checkoff programs? What are the economic issues associated with these programs? Have they generated any economic benefits?