All appointees will serve a one-year term. The appointees were selected from nominees submitted by state pork producer association and importer groups. These appointments were made by former Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer.

Established under the Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1985, the Delegate Body and the National Pork Board have implemented a national program designed to improve the pork industry’s position in the marketplace. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service oversees operations of the Delegate Body.

The program is funded by an assessment currently set at 0.40 per cent of the market value of all hogs sold in the United States. An equivalent amount on imported hogs, pork, and pork products is also collected.

Delegates meet annually to recommend the rate of assessment, determine the percentage of assessments that state associations will receive and nominate producers and importers to the 15-member National Pork Board. The Delegate Body will be seated during 4-7 March 2009, National Pork Industry Forum in Dallas, Texas.

Representation on the Delegate Body is based on annual net assessments collected on sales of domestic hogs within individual states, with a minimum of two producers from each state. States have the option of not submitting nominees. New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming did not submit any nominees; Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Mexico each submitted a single nomination and Alaska submitted two. Secretary Tom Vilsack will continue to accept nominations to fill the 13 vacancies created by those states that did not submit their allotted nominees, and an announcement will be made at a later date if any additional appointments are made.

Further Reading

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You can view the full list of appointed members by state by clicking here.