ClydeR
11-09-2010, 10:51 AM
Just in time for the holidays, some domestic Christmas tree producers are hoping to emulate the nation's dairy, beef and cotton farmers, who tax themselves to pay for common ads. But first, they must rally support for an idea some oppose on principle.
More... (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/08/2408778/christmas-tree-growers-seek-federal.html)
The proposed Christmas tree program would be akin to 18 existing promotion orders already overseen by the Agriculture Department and funded by industry assessments. Some are very large, like two dairy industry programs that together collect some $391 million annually. Others are modest, like the $2.7 million-a-year watermelon promotion program.
Some of the resulting promotions, including the dairy industry's long-running "Got Milk?" campaign and the cotton industry's "Cotton: the fabric of our lives" slogan, have entered the national vocabulary.
"That's where we want to go," said Battaglia, whose tree ranch is south of San Jose and the famed Silicon Valley. "We want to get to something that's kind of catchy."
Skeptics exist, though, and some producers challenge both the efficacy and fairness of mandatory advertising fees. Within California's San Joaquin Valley, for instance, some tree fruit producers have fought similar assessment programs for many years, with several challenges reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Individuals have a First Amendment interest in freedom from compulsion to subsidize speech," former Justice David Souter argued in a 1997 challenge brought by California peach and nectarine growers.
Souter was in the minority, and by a 5-4 vote the court upheld the tree fruit program. The court in 2005 likewise upheld the beef promotion program, but other free-speech challenges keep popping up in state courts.
The proposed Christmas tree program would charge producers and importers 15 cents for every fresh-cut tree. A Christmas Tree Promotion Board, appointed by the Agriculture Department, would administer the funds.
Two things.
First, what catchy slogan would you propose for the Christmas tree advertising?
Second, this is Obama socialism.
More... (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/08/2408778/christmas-tree-growers-seek-federal.html)
The proposed Christmas tree program would be akin to 18 existing promotion orders already overseen by the Agriculture Department and funded by industry assessments. Some are very large, like two dairy industry programs that together collect some $391 million annually. Others are modest, like the $2.7 million-a-year watermelon promotion program.
Some of the resulting promotions, including the dairy industry's long-running "Got Milk?" campaign and the cotton industry's "Cotton: the fabric of our lives" slogan, have entered the national vocabulary.
"That's where we want to go," said Battaglia, whose tree ranch is south of San Jose and the famed Silicon Valley. "We want to get to something that's kind of catchy."
Skeptics exist, though, and some producers challenge both the efficacy and fairness of mandatory advertising fees. Within California's San Joaquin Valley, for instance, some tree fruit producers have fought similar assessment programs for many years, with several challenges reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Individuals have a First Amendment interest in freedom from compulsion to subsidize speech," former Justice David Souter argued in a 1997 challenge brought by California peach and nectarine growers.
Souter was in the minority, and by a 5-4 vote the court upheld the tree fruit program. The court in 2005 likewise upheld the beef promotion program, but other free-speech challenges keep popping up in state courts.
The proposed Christmas tree program would charge producers and importers 15 cents for every fresh-cut tree. A Christmas Tree Promotion Board, appointed by the Agriculture Department, would administer the funds.
Two things.
First, what catchy slogan would you propose for the Christmas tree advertising?
Second, this is Obama socialism.