Generally an automatic or mandatory deduction from a producer’s marketing receipts used to fund activities that promote or otherwise support a particular farm product. Under certain agricultural marketing orders or commodity promotion programs, assessments may be applied against receipts to help pay for generic advertising or research. The term check-off is often used interchangeably with assessment. Federal deficit reduction marketing assessments have also been connected to certain commodity price support programs (dairy, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, and soybeans) to help reduce the federal budget deficit, which arguably is higher because of the programs.